More than just a place to eat: Schools revamp canteens as social hangouts, study corners

SINGAPORE – For generations, school canteens have typically been places where students eat quickly before hurrying off for their next lesson.

Rows of long multi-coloured rectangular tables – a familiar sight in many Singapore schools – have long defined these spaces, built for efficiency rather than comfort.

But that is changing.

In a growing number of schools, including Yishun Secondary School, Zhenghua Secondary School and Tampines Meridian Junior College, canteens are turning into spaces where students no longer simply eat and leave.

Redesigned to resemble trendy cafes and social hangouts, these areas are encouraging students to linger, interact and unwind.

The three schools are among several that have, in the past year, redesigned their canteens as multi-functional spaces that go beyond mealtimes.

At least 12 schools, including Montfort Secondary, Zhonghua Primary and CHIJ St Joseph’s Convent, had put up tenders on government procurement portal GeBIZ in 2025 to refurbish their canteens to meet a range of purposes.

These include spaces for food composting and recycling, and interactive zones where students use touch-screen monitors to learn. Other features include spaces to encourage inquiry-based learning, where students learn by exploring and asking questions.

At Zhenghua Secondary in Bukit Panjang, standing tables and high chairs have been built around the pillars in its canteen, with USB ports for students to charge their personal learning devices.

The long benches and tables have been replaced with more comfortable chairs that offer back support and modular furniture set-ups like round tables and seating booths. There are also board games like chess for students to borrow and play.

Zhenghua Secondary principal Ng Hock Soon said the canteen was revamped in November and December 2025 after putting in place stricter phone use rules in the second term of 2025, not allowing students to use their phones during break periods.

This was done before the nationwide phone use guidelines were rolled out in January 2026, barring students from using their phones during break periods.

Said Mr Ng: “It’s a more relaxed atmosphere, making it feel like a cafe... Some of the stallholders tell me that they see new student faces in the canteen now.”

The canteen also doubles as a classroom for learning about sustainability.

A water cooler fitted with a tracker encourages the use of reusable water bottles, while a weighing scale lets students monitor the amount of food they throw away.

Secondary 5 student Mimi Wardina, 17, said the food waste bin has made her more mindful about discarding leftovers.

The revamped space, with flexible square and round tables, has also changed how students interact.

“Everybody’s facing each other, and it’s easier to look at their facial expressions. So everybody’s talking and actually present in a conversation,” she said.

Her Secondary 4 schoolmate Jessica Ong, 16, said the muted colours and earth tones create a calm environment that helps students focus when studying.

“It feels like a cafe, like kopitiam vibes. It breaks the stereotype of an ordinary canteen,” she said.

“I used to study at home by myself or through Zoom with my friends. Now, I like studying with them here at the canteen. It’s easier to clarify questions or even meet with our teachers.”

At Yishun Secondary, students also now gather to rest and work at its new canteen space, whose revamp was completed in March.

The school’s vice-principal, Mr Tay Hiang Soon, said the staff in charge of the canteen redesign took inspiration from the spaces students flocked to after school.

“We also enjoy going to places like cafes... where we can be (like) youngsters, and don’t mind doing work there or having proper chit-chat,” he said.

The project started in June 2025 and was completed in two phases.

The first stage involved converting an underutilised corner into a tiered seating platform known as The Stairway, an alternative space for students to rest or interact with their friends.

High bar-top tables were built around existing pillars. Equipped with electrical points, the tables have become hot spots for students in the canteen, said Mr Tay. “The pillars were an eyesore, and we wanted to turn them into usable features we see in cafes and fast-food restaurants.”

Every change was intentional, said Mr Tay, from the use of warm LED lights to create a calming mood to the placement of a piano near the communal areas to foster creativity.

The second stage involved swopping standard tables and chairs for varied seating nooks and arrangements, from longer rectangular tables for larger groups to smaller circular ones for some privacy.

Said Mr Tay: “Previously, for formal discussions or learning, (students) would prefer to go to the library because (it has) air-con. But now, we see many students linger here even after school.”

Yishun Secondary student Vijesh Tamilko, 15, said the revamp has changed his daily routine.

“I found myself studying more at the high bar-top tables because... the elevated tables make it easier to hear my friends during revision and discussion,” said the Secondary 4 student.

He also likes the new curved and partially enclosed seating areas.

“Previously, with the tables all lined up, you didn’t feel a sense of privacy. Having this enclosed space to ourselves helps us unwind, and we’re able to talk about some things you don’t want other people to hear,” he said.

Students reimagine JC canteen

At Tampines Meridian Junior College, its canteen makeover was helmed by students.

The journey began in 2022, when a formerly empty space outside the canteen was turned into a lounge space now known as the Cove. This was followed by a major redesign in 2025 of the canteen.

Ms Nicolette Chia, a mathematics teacher at TMJC who oversaw the canteen redesign, said the projects are part of a cohort tradition, where graduating batches leave a permanent mark on the campus.

“We want to empower student voice and agency. It’s a project they take ownership of, so that when they return to the college, it’s something they can be proud of.”

For Mr Goh Jun Keat, 20, who graduated in 2025 and was a member of the student council that led the canteen revamp, the project was more than just about the aesthetics.

The canteen had remained largely unchanged for nearly 20 years since the college’s early days.

“The students saw a need for a refresh... You seldom saw people using the canteen for project work or discussions because the furniture was old and less well-maintained,” he said.

Mr Goh and his schoolmates set out to create a multi-purpose communal space that made the most of every inch of the hall.

“We wanted to inspire students to have constructive discussions even while they eat. We managed to turn limited space into different zones for different purposes.”

Apart from refreshing the stall frontages, high tables and sofas were added. Unused spaces around the hall’s edges became a performance area with a small stage, and group work areas featured extendable tables fitted with whiteboards.

In the past, Ms Chia said, students would eat and leave the canteen immediately to gather at other areas around the school. Now, it has become a lively space for peer-to-peer learning and is more crowded at any time.

“Because the spaces are more inviting, we see a lot more collaboration. Students are making use of the extendable tables to solve mathematics problems together, something we didn’t use to see,” she said.

For TMJC student Wang Qiyuan, 17, the revamped canteen and the adjacent Cove lounge space have become the heartbeat of college life. During the school’s open house and orientation programmes, the modern layout of the space allowed student groups to set up booths and engage newcomers in a space that felt “vibrant rather than monotonous”, he said.

Describing the Cove as a meeting place for creativity, Qiyuan said: “I see a lot of students gathering there to busk and make music together. It gives us a platform to perform and improves the overall JC experience, which can otherwise be quite daunting.”

He now also prefers studying in the revamped dining hall to doing so at home. The space is particularly conducive during the junior college’s night study programme in the lead-up to exams, with cafe-style lighting and air-conditioning during such sessions.

“It is very encouraging to see so many students in the canteen. You feel inspired by people mugging together because you know you aren’t alone,” he said. “It’s like a library, but better.”