Outram Sec’s new campus at Sengkang to carry on its sporting legacy

SINGAPORE - For decades, the splashing of water and excited chatter of students at Outram Secondary School’s swimming pool echoed through its York Hill campus.

Since the pool opened in 1977, generations of students have used it for swimming lessons and to train in water polo.

When the school opens at its new 3ha campus in Sengkang in January 2026, the pool will not be there, but the school is not giving up on its sporting legacy.

Its swimmers now train at the Singapore Sports School in Woodlands, and Outram Secondary also intends to work with community pool facilities such as the nearby Sengkang Swimming Complex to enable students to use the pools.

“The school will not have a swimming pool, but why would you settle for one when you have three?” said principal Keith Tan, referring to Sengkang Swimming Complex.

Secondary 3 student and water polo athlete Choy Tian Le, 15, said he chose to attend Outram Secondary because of its sporting history, and is glad that the new campus is near several public pools where students can train.

Outram Secondary is known for its achievements in swimming, water polo and rock climbing. It won its first B Division water polo title in 2013. In 2025, in a combined team with the Singapore Sports School, its C Division boys finished third at the National School Games.

Tian Le added: “It doesn’t matter where we train, as long as our legacy persists, and we continue to excel in water sports.”

Operating in two campuses

The move to the Sengkang campus marks a new chapter for one of Singapore’s oldest schools, which celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2026.

Construction began at the new site in January 2024. Located at 48 Anchorvale Crescent, the campus comprises three blocks and several facilities for sports.

At full capacity, it can house up to 1,700 students and about 150 staff, making it slightly larger than a typical secondary school.

It expects to welcome about 360 Sec 1 students in 2026, divided into 10 classes.

The school’s 200 upper secondary students will remain at the York Hill site until they graduate. It did not take in students in 2025 because of the move.

Due to the distance between the two campuses, Mr Tan said it was unreasonable to expect staff to straddle both.

Teachers will move according to whether they are teaching lower or upper secondary students. About 35 staff will be deployed in York Hill, while about 50 will be stationed at the new campus.

Unlike lessons, however, co-curricular activities (CCA) will be held at the new campus, as far as possible, with younger students guided by their seniors.

“It’s with the idea that our existing students should also have access to the newer facilities,” Mr Tan said.

To make this possible, the school will arrange for transport to ferry students between the campuses.

To carry on its sporting legacy, in addition to its existing sport CCAs, the school will start new ones in 2026, such as badminton, basketball and ultimate frisbee.

With its 2,160 sq m integrated multipurpose indoor sports hall, nearly double the size of a regular school hall, the Anchorvale campus has plenty of space to accommodate these sports.

The new campus also has a football pitch, three outdoor sports courts and one sheltered court that can be used for various sports, including volleyball and netball. These facilities will be shared with ActiveSG to allow the public access after school hours.

Mr Lim Teck Ming, 51, who teaches mathematics and physical education at the school, said that as the York Hill campus had no open field, students were limited when they played games like rounders and softball. Equipment had to be modified and students could not throw the balls too far.

The new sports facilities will allow students to enjoy a greater variety of sports and learn them properly, added Mr Lim, who is also a former Outram Secondary student.

Singapore’s first zero-energy school

The new Outram Secondary will be Singapore’s first zero-energy school, fully powered by about 1,340 solar panels on the rooftops.

Every day, the panels can harvest enough energy to power about 250 four-room Housing Board flats.

The new site emphasises green spaces, with pockets of nature spread throughout the grounds where students can unwind and relax.

“Students need places to breathe, to reflect, and to feel grounded. These pockets of greenery help create that balance,” said Mrs Elaine Toh, the school’s vice-principal.

A central courtyard and unity deck on the third-floor feature trees, leafy plants and seating areas, to serve as both a social hub and outdoor classroom.

Other areas like a rain garden and eco-garden allow students to observe plants, monitor biodiversity and participate in horticulture.

Calling the environment the “third teacher”, Mrs Toh said these areas will be jointly managed by the staff and students, to build a sense of ownership and eco-stewardship.

A space for inclusion and co-creation

As one of two secondary schools designated for students with hearing loss using the oral approach, the new campus will have learning support features, such as induction wiring under the floorboards in the multipurpose hall that will sync with students’ hearing aids.

One of the classrooms is also outfitted with a transmission device, to send the teacher’s voice through a single transmitter, so that both students with normal hearing and those with hearing loss can hear instructions clearly. If this is effective, it will be progressively installed in other classrooms in the future.

At present, the school has fewer than 10 students with hearing loss.

Describing the new grounds as a blank canvas, Mr Tan said there are many possibilities for students to co-create their own school identity.

“It could involve painting wall murals, urban and vertical farming as well as turning spaces into well-being corners and gratitude walls. The possibilities are endless,” he said.

He added that students will also benefit from flexible furniture in the classrooms and canteen that can be arranged to facilitate collaborative learning, presentations or even individual study.

The school’s heritage will be present in many different parts of the new campus, he said.

Its three blocks are splashed with Outram Secondary’s signature colours – red, blue and yellow. Inside classrooms, the furniture is in the colours of the school’s five sports houses – purple, green, yellow, red and blue.

As the school prepares for its open house at the new site on Nov 22 for prospective Sec 1 students in 2026, Mr Tan hopes the campus will become a second home to students and be a new avenue to carry on the school legacy.

He added: “We are both new and old... This is really a new chapter in the school’s history and development.”

Correction note: This story has been edited for clarity.