Aims, characteristics, and reputation
The school's stated mission is to be a world-class institution in
nurturing the holistic development of their students, and to have
every student be "A Scholar, an Officer and a Gentleman." This is
reflected in the school motto, "The Best Is Yet To Be." The phrase
is taken from the first line of the Robert Browning poem, Rabbi ben
Ezra (1864), "Grow old along with me! / The best is yet to be...",
and is supposed to encourage students to greater heights by
reminding them that their best achievements are yet to come.
The so-called "ACS spirit" is particularly strong because of close
ties with alumni, who frequently donate funds to the school and
send their children to be educated there, similar to the public
school tradition in England. Students who attend the primary or
secondary schools (including affiliated schools) are usually given
priority when awarded places in the next higher institution.
Although morally conservative due to its religious roots, the
school has a reputation for producing students who are, if not
brighter, then possessing sharp and inquisitive minds. The
literary, debating and drama societies are particularly
well-supported. ACS students also have a reputation for possessing
a quirky sense of humor, with pranks being a long-established part
of the school history.
ACS is considered one of the more prestigious schools in Singapore.
This is because of its long history and also because many of its
graduates have gone on to be successful in business as well as
professional fields such as law and medicine. Despite occasional
lapses in academic standards over the years, the perception that
ACS students are more confident and outspoken than students from
other schools continues to persist.
The school's students have also been accused of being arrogant and
snobbish, and ACS itself has often been charged as being a school
only for children of the rich and elite. In the 1970s, there was a
minor flap in the local press about ACS students flaunting their
wealth to other less privileged students and the world at large,
and the term "snob" began being applied to them. As a result, the
school initiated strict policies on how much money a student was
allowed to bring to school, and even what kinds of watches or shoes
would be permitted as part of the school attire.
The dress code has been relaxed slightly over the years, but the
myth of the rich and elitist ACS student still survives to a
degree, despite the fact that students from all income levels were
and continue to be admitted to the school. Admittedly, the presence
of the Independent School, with its high school fees and
free-ranging curriculum, has not helped to dispel this idea.
Curiously, other schools in Singapore, even Independent ones, do
not suffer from the same reputation.
The social history of the school in its Singaporean context
provides a clue: at the very beginning ACS was set up by
missionaries who taught with the intention of converting the
locals; it was frequently attended by the children of the
mercantile and social elite who saw an English education as a path
to greater success. This dichotomy between material success and
spiritual success has become entrenched. It is said (partly in
jest) that while the graduates of other top schools might rule
Singapore, ACSians own Singapore.
Source: Wikipedia --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Chinese_School#Aims.2C_characteristics.2C_and_reputation
obviously written by acs ppls
