The History of Anglo-Chinese School :

On 1 March 1886, the Anglo-Chinese School was founded by Bishop William F. Oldham at a small, poorly ventilated shophouse at 70 Amoy Street with 13 pupils. At that time, the school provided instruction in English in the morning and Chinese in the afternoon, and that was how it came to be called by its present name. Then with the growth of the school to a strength of 104, it was resited at Coleman Street and within three years, its enrolment increased to 300.

During the period of the 1st World War from 1914 to 1920, the school was led by Rev J S Nagle who introduced regular Chapel services and physical education for the benefit of the pupils. He also started afternoon classes to cater for the less bright and average students. To solve the problem of staffing and also to ensure continuity in the life of the school, Nagle also encouraged the brighter pupils to stay on in the school as teachers.

In 1952, the Anglo-Chinese Continuation School was started by the Principal at that time, Rev PL Peach, to meet the needs of the students who were average and had to leave school because of the government's imposition of the school-going age limit for boys. The school was later renamed Oldham Methodist School.

The next important landmark in the history of the school was the competition and opening of the secondary school at Cairnhill by Rev A B McNab who was the Principal from 1925 to 1929. The School Anthem, which bonded so many ACSians together, was written by Mr H M Hoisington, a teacher of the school, in 1926. Inspired by it, Dr Yap Pheng Geck designed the School Crest in the same year.

From 1929 to 1947, under the leadership of Mr T W Hinch, the school achieved successes in every aspect of school life. He also introduced the House system in 1930 to encourage sports and healthy rivalry among the students. During the years of the 2nd World War, school was suspended and only re-opened in early 1946 after the buildings at Cairnhill and Coleman Street, which has been badly damaged, were made safe. Mr T W Hinch, the pre-war Principal, who was interned during the Japanese Occupation and ordered to return to Britain to recuperate, returned to Singapore in June 1946 to carry on the work of consolidation. One of his top priorities was formation of 'X' and 'Y' classes, similar to the 'Normal' and 'Express' streams, to meet the needs of the pupils who had lost some years of education during the war. When Mr T W Hinch retired, Dr Herbert H Paterson became the new Principal and with support of old boys, students, teachers and parents, he relocated the secondary School from Cairnhill to Barker Road on 29 September 1950.

The Post School Certificate Classes, later known as the Pre-University Classes, were also established in 1950 and the first batch of girls was enrolled in ACS. Then in 1952, Dr Thio Chan Bee, an old boy of the school, became its first Asian Principal. Under him, the school saw further expansion in Coleman Street, followed by the building of the Lee Hall, a three-storey block with 12 classrooms and 4 laboratories at Barker Road.

In January 1961, the Oldham Methodist Secondary School, which had been functioning in the afternoon in Coleman Street, was transferred to Barker Road and the classes were converted to become the afternoon session of the Secondary School, taking in boys who did not qualify for the first 200 places in the morning session. This arrangement was eventually ended in 1974 when the school was reorganised, and all Secondary One and Two classes functioned in the afternoon while other levels met in the morning. Then in 1977, the Pre-University classes moved to the Anglo-Chinese Junior College at Rochester Park leaving the Secondary School behind at Barker Road.

When the idea of Independent Schools was mooted by the Ministry of Education, Anglo-Chinese Primary School moved from its premises at Coleman Street to Barker Road in November 1993 and became a full government-aided mission school known as Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road). It has both primary and secondary classes, with the Primary Section. In its first year, the Secondary Section of the school started off with 309 pupils in 8 classes catering to pupils from Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) stream. A team of 12 staff worked hard to establish the new Secondary Section of the School.

The ACS family has grown rapidly over the years. To date, there are 5 schools - Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road), Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College. In addition, there is a hostel, Oldham Hall. New boarding facilities are also being provided at ACS (Independent).

The success of ACS today is the result of the mission and vision of its founder and the rallying of old boys, parents and supporters to a cause they believe strongly in. The ACS Spirit gives to all the extraordinary willingness to come together for good of the School. It is the feeling of family: acceptance, identity, security and belonging, which compels ACSians to step into the breach and to make the sacrifice and effort. Above all, the strive to improve and cater for the future generations of ACSians will always drive ACS to greater heights and achievements. As the School motto says, 'The Best Is Yet To Be!