Tanglin Trust School is the oldest British International School in Singapore. In 2025, Tanglin Trust School celebrates its centenary, marking 100 years since its founding in 1925.
The school is a not-for-profit that is wholly focused on providing an excellent education, and student results are a testament to this commitment. In this article, we explore Tanglin Trust School’s history and its centenary celebration plans.
The history of Tanglin Trust School
It all began at the Tanglin Club with just five students under the guidance of Miss Anne Griffiths Jones, a dedicated Welshwoman who had travelled to Singapore to visit her brother. Known affectionately as Miss Griff, she aimed to educate children who had joined their parents in Singapore, offering an alternative to being sent away to boarding school in England.
The story of Tanglin is a truly fascinating story of ups and downs, twists and turns, with the phenomenal Miss Griff as a key character. The school has not only survived for almost 100 years, but continually developed, expanded, and thrived. It has built up a strong reputation and won several accolades over the years.
Miss Griff not only founded the school, but also imparted important values and fostered a keen sense of passion and dedication to providing the best education for British children in Singapore and Malaya. These included the children of British plantation owners and managers, colonial administrators, and servicemen based in the Far East (Singapore and Malaya).
Miss Griff arrived in Singapore in 1923 and turned her hand to teaching. Although she did not have any formal qualifications, she founded Tanglin School in two huts in the grounds of The Tanglin Club with just five pupils in 1925. Tanglin School flourished and was soon spilling out from the huts. Assembly was held in the ballroom, and The Tanglin Club even offered the use of the Men’s Bar for the school.
Today, Tanglin stands as the oldest British school in Southeast Asia, a vibrant international school with 2,850 students from more than 50 countries, ranging in age from 3 to 18. Tanglin will celebrate this significant milestone with a year-long series of centenary events throughout the 2024–2025 school year.
Centenary celebrations
The Centenary celebrations began with the launch of a unique exhibition, 100 Years of Tanglin: Celebrating a Centenary of Excellence. It features artefacts from the school’s archives, including a letter from Buckingham Palace congratulating the school on its momentous milestone!
As it reflects on its past, Tanglin is also looking forward. The Institute at Tanglin has curated a series of talks under the theme “Future of…” where each speaker will delve into future opportunities, trends, and the challenges the school will face across various industries and disciplines.
The Centenary year will also include a grand birthday party for the whole school community, an alumni party in London, and a spectacular concert at The Esplanade.
As part of its Centenary in 2025, Tanglin will launch the Highlands Programme at the new Tanglin Gippsland campus in Australia. The Highlands Programme is a five-week immersive programme designed as the pinnacle of Year 9 students' Middle School education at Tanglin. Mark Cutchie, the new Head of Tanglin Gippsland, will oversee the programme, which will focus on fostering three essential attributes: curiosity, confidence, and community.
