St Mary's School- Message by Miss Florence Carpenter in 1962

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St. Mary's School was first opened on November 4, 1912, in a house in Weld Road. Bishop Ferguson-Davie appointed Miss Eveleigh as the first headmistress and she opened the school with three pupils. There were many changes in the first few years: they moved to Ampang Road and then to Damansara Road, and in 1915 Miss Eveleigh went on leave and Miss Playne took over and was joined by Miss Pope in the following year.

 

In January 1917, the school was reorganised and St. Mary's Church Committee took responsibility for it.

Miss Pope became the principal and it moved again, first to Lake View Road, and then to Treacher Road into the building which is now the school bungalow; there were now fifty-four day girls and four boarders.

 

In 1918, Miss McNeil became principal. In 1919, a Boys' Department was opened in the old clergy house, of which part of the foundation can just be seen near St. Mary's vicarage. The present school buildings were opened on October 15, 1923, and extended in 1930. The Old Girls' Association was formed in 1925.

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Miss Pring joined the staff in 1930 and became principal in 1931. She introduced the teaching of Science and Biology, taken as School Certificate subjects. The school uniform was adopted, 1 believe, when Miss Sprenger was acting principal in 1934. The design of the school badge reflects the history of the school: the lily of St. Mary, the cross of St.Andrew, and the lamp of learning. The House system was introduced in 1939; the colours were as now, but the original names were those of the four Federated States - Perak, Selangor, Neger Sembilan and Pahang. By 1941, the enrolment had increased to an extent that necessitated more classrooms and specialist rooms were also needed. We were discussing ways and means of providing these when the Japanese invasion came.

 

During the Japanese occupation, the school did not function and the buildings were used as a military hospital. Miss Yzelman reopened the school on October 18, 1945 and other teachers and former pupils rallied round her. Miss Pring was killed as a result of a fall in Kashmir in 1943. So I was appointed as principal when I returned in 1946. During that year, the School Certificate class was combined with that at Pudu English School because of shortage of staff. However, there were full classes in 1947, and great progress was made under Mrs. Pinnick as acting principal.

 

In the last fifteen years, the enrolment has steadily increased and new buildings have been added. The temporary classrooms near the road were built in 1948, the Domestic Science room in 1955, the second primary block in 1957, and the new secondary block in 1959. At the beginning of 1958, the primary and secondary schools were separated, and Mrs. Louise Labrooy was headmistress of the primary school until she was succeeded by Mrs. Fowler in 1959. It has become increasingly clear that the primary school buildings are inadequate even for the present enrolment, and efforts have been made by the Board of Managers and by the Ministry of Education to find more land for the expansion of the school.

 

So the small school begun in 1912, has developed into two schools. Some of the earlier features have disappeared: the hostel, the kindergarten and the Boys' Department. We need facilities which our predecessors did not think about: Science laboratories, a playing field and audio visual aids (AVA) room.

 

It is inevitable that a short history should concentrate on development as shown by buildings, and be punctuated by the names of headmistresses. However, the real life of the school is in its members, the teachers and students who have worked together here. Most of them remain in Malaya, but some are scattered throughout the five continents. In these times of rapid change, I make no attempt to prophesy the happenings of the next fifty years. I pray for the blessing given in the words taken from the Old Testament:

 

"The LORD bless thee, and keep thee.

The LORD make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee;

The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace."

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- Numbers 6: 2426

 

Miss Florence Carpenter