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King Edward VII School, Taiping - Main Building
This is a picture of the King Edward VII main building.
The history of King Edward VII School goes back to July 1883 when the Central School was opened at the site where the Nurses Hostel was. The school began in a very small way, and in 1885, a gymnasium was added. The Headmaster of the Central School later the King Edward VII School, Roger Francis Stainer, B. A. (London) was a great leader, a fine sportsman and a capable organizer. He faced the challenge of the lack of qualified staff but trained the staff that he had in school with the best guidance that he could give. Mr. Roger also had his football team trained so that in any match they competed they won. Magni Nominis Umbra was the motto he himself chose for the school. He lived up to it by every action and mind of his. He died on board ship homeward bound.
A large shed made of jungle rollers and cheap timber was built to accommodate the ever increasing number of students. These temporary structures did not solve the problem. The new site allocated for the school was the land where the first railway station for Malaya had been and the demand to evacuate the school was so great that there were two attempts to burn the old school building down.
Mr. Stainer suggested that the school name should be changed to King Edward VII School in honour of King Edward VII who had succeeded the throne of England in 1901 on the death of Queen Victoria. The Official Opening of the School was performed by H. H. The Sultan. The highest standard was still Standard VII but there was provision for the brighter boys to do extra subjects, the chief of which were Euclid, Algebra and Typewriting. There were no Cambridge Classes yet and candidates who wished to sit for the Junior Cambridge Local Examination had to go all the way to Kuala Lumpur where, annually, the examination was held. A Normal Class was established in about 1907.
For many years Soccer remained the chief sport. Gymnastics, Athletics, too, were becoming extremely popular and from the school began to flow a continuous stream of athletes and cricketers. The First World War did not hinder the progress of the School.
Through a long line of able Headmasters the traditions of the School and the High reputation it had acquired in its academic and sporting life were maintained. In purely academic matters, results were gratifying. The percentage of passes obtained in the Cambridge Examinations remained high.
The School did not function during the War with Japan and the subsequent occupation of the country by Japanese forces. On 1st October 1945, however, the war was over, the School came back life this time in St. George Institution under the Headmastership of Mr. E. A. Moissinac.
On the 14th of January, 1946, the School moved back into its old buildings under Capt. C. R. Tolliday and almost at once reconstruction was begun.
The School in 1958 functioned in four separate units, the Primary Department in a building on King Edward Road, the Elementary Classes in the Sheffield Hostel on Upper Museum Road and in the old boys’ Hostel on Station Road, and the Secondary Classes in the main buildings opposite the Rest House. There was a Hostel for about 80 boys on Swettenham Road.
To see a picture of King Edward VII Primary School, Taiping, click here.