SEJARAH

 HISTORY OF ST PAUL'S SCHOOL

How it began.............. 



In its' early years, St Paul's School saw massive and significant changes. Within a decade , a piece of vacant land was transformed into an education institution with buildings and facilities that were modern for that era.

Though the 10th year marks the end of its first decade, the history of the school dates back as far as pre-war years. In fact the beginning of the school was actually associated with the coming of the Anglican Mission to Beaufort Town in 1939.

Fr. Collier ,the then Rector as well as Principal of All Saints’ School, Jesselton through some Beaufort students took great interest in a small private school in Beaufort which was then being run by an Anglican Parish, Mr. Chin Ah Fook.

When Mr. Chin retired, he handed the school tp Fr. Collier and from then on, the school was then known as All Saints Branch School. The School was then situated on a site near the then tennis court of Beaufort Club. However, later when the Chinese self supporting church in Beaufort came into communion with the church of England, the school moved into the church with Mr. Kok Yu Kong and Mr. Leong Fun Yin running a bilingual school in English and Chinese simultaneously.

After the war, the English section of the school came under the care of Kung Ming Chinese School.

St Paul's Primary School in the 60s

However, in 1954 when Kung Ming School found the task of running the school unmanageable, Mr. Kok Yu Kong and Stanley Ho took over the separated English section and thus then the first seed of St Paul’s School was planted. Mr. Kok and Mr. Stanley Ho can said to be the co founders of the school.

It was however, not until 1955 that the school had its own building. On the 5th of January that year, the present primary school building , a chapel and a teachers’ quarters were completed. The student number was then only 96 with Mr. Kok Hon Siong as Principal. Mr. Kok Hon Siong’s years as principal were significant. It was under him that the secondary school was started in 1958.

in January on the following year. 1960, however was a hallmark in the history of the school for it was then that the school presented its first batcIn 1959, Rev. Fr. Tudball became the priest in charge and the principal of the school. Under his principalship the school expanded very rapidly and by the end of 1959, and additional block of classroom was constructed. Fr. A Tudball left at the end of 1960 and his place was taken over by Miss Owen Parker whose term of office was rather short for she left the school h of candidates for the Sabah Junior Certificate Exam.

On January 1961, Mr. Norman Bisset took over as the principal of the school. It was through him the school received numerous gifts of Science equipments from Australia under the Colombo plan. Regrettably, Mr. Bisset did not stay long for he left the school at the end of 1961.

St Paul's Secondary School in the early 70s

The following principal ,Mr. Thien Thau Kiong came at the end of 1962. Under him, the expansion of the school took a significant change ,for it was him who spearheaded the construction of the present secondary school building. 20th January 1963 was a historical occasion for the school as the State Director of Education , the Hon Mr. G.D. Muir laid the foundation stone and the parent building of the secondary school found its home and it is here that the school celebrated the end of the first decade. It was also noteworthy to mention that the school hostel was also completed at this period.

Mr. Thien left the school in August 1963 and his place was momentarily taken over by Rev. Fr. James Pun who served for about a term before retiring at the end of the same year.

In January 1964, Mr. Noel Chin became the principal of the school. The student number was 290 then. Under him, the expansion of the school was further accelerated. By the end of the same year, work on a new Science Block costing RM43,00.00 began and it was completed in the following year.

Mr. Noel Chin

The Science Block was officially declared opened on the 25th June 1966 by the Hon. En. Mohd Dun B Banir. Thus, at the end of 1966, the school was able to present its first batch of Science candidates in Physics and Chemistry for the School Certificate Examinations. The end of 1965 also saw the completion of the school library to cater for the increased number of students which then stood at 475.

1966-1967 saw the further expansion of the school. A new block of 4 classrooms was built adjacent to the ‘old block’ In 1967, St Paul’s was officially divided into primary and secondary school, with the primary school occupying the old building built in 1950s. Mr. Chong Cheng Cheong became the headmaster of the primary school.

By 1968, an additional two classes were completed below the new block as the students number has increased to 600. It was also a sad year for the school as the then and charismatic principal, Mr. Noel Chin whom had devoted so much for St Paul’s left to take up a new appointment as the new principal for All Saints School in Kota Kinabalu.

Father Hurford

His place was taken over by Rev.Fr.Collin Hurford. Under Fr. Hurford a badminton court was built and works on the school ‘padang’ began. The padang was built on a reclaimed swamp costed the school RM20,000.00. In addition, to this, a new Home Science Room was constructed under his tenure.

Fr. Collin Hurford left the school in September 1971, and was replaced by Mr. Goh Chit Yong. Under his principalship, the school had achieved high standards in the fields of both education and sports. Both areas could be witnessed by the number of successes in public examinations and the sports.

1973 can be considered as a year of achievement for the school. As a result, of the high performance of 96% passes in JCE of 1972, the school was able to start off with two Form Four classes and for the first time the school was able to have separate Form 4 Science and Arts classes. Apart from academic successes, the school also shone brightly in the field of sports. For the first time in history , the school captured the championship of the District Inter-School Sports, thus breaking the monopoly of the rival school, St John’s School. This was not to mention the successes in other games particularly basketball and table tennis where the school consistently uphold the top place.

Mr. Goh Chit Yong

While the school experienced high benchmark in its achievements, it encountered a fair share of problems and failures too. The problem of staffing, the low passes of SCE results, the inadequacy of sports facilities and others continue to be viewed as utmost concern by the school. However, in the spirit of the school motto “ Strive That Ye May Obtain” , it had continue to strive to seek answers to the problems.

St Paul’s has emerged a long way towards becoming one of the biggest schools in the State today. It will continue to progress in the years to come.The school will undoubtedly keep in mind those who have contributed one way or another into making St Paul’s of what it is today.



Birth Of St Paul's School in Beaufort, Sabah

The beginning of St Paul's Primary and Secondary School is closely associated with the establishment of the Anglican Church in Beaufort. St Paul's Church was born on Jan 5th 1941. The then visiting priest from Jesselton (KK) was Rev Collier who was arrested by the Japanese Military Govt in May 1942 when the Japanese occupied Beaufort.

The Kok Family's association with St Paul's Primary and Secondary School began even before 1941 and has run into generations since then.

It began with the late Rev Canon Kok Yu Kong, a teacher first of All Saints and later of Kung Ming Chinese School in Beaufort prior to 1941.,no church existed in Beaufort except for a small group of Christians meeting in a home for songs and prayers under Rev Kok.

After 2nd world war, there was talk of building a new Church building to replace the old pre-war temporary building. Anglican priests from Jesselton pushed for the plan for a school cum chapel costing about RM13,000. Part of the money was raised ,apart from using the 50pc grant from the education Dept. it was reported that Rev Kok and Mr Stanley Ho (later a MP) started St Paul's primary school.

The site chosen for the building of the primary school cum chapel was a secondary jungle at that time, though it was only about a quarter mile from the township. This was cleared and the levelling of the hilltop was done by hand by some older Christian students from Kung Ming Chinese School under the leadership of Rev Kok.." a Parish worker named Margaret Chong wrote in a commemorative magazine of the Anglican Diocese of Sabah.

According to her ,when the primary school was built in 1954, Rev Kok's cousin, Kok Hon Siong ,a trained teacher was engaged to become the first headmaster of St Paul's Primary School. About 110 students were enrolled in 3 classrooms. Kok resigned at the end of 1959 to go into business, and Rev Tudball became the first Principal of both St Paul's primary and Secondary School in 1960, his place was taken over by Ms parker for a short while. She was succeeded by Rev Bisett in early 1961 but left at the end of 1961, and was replaced by Thien Thau Kiong in early 1962.

Thien who left in Aug 1963 for further studies in Canada ,now resides in Perth.Australia.

Rev Father Pun from the Diocese of Hong Kong took over a s acting Principal for half a year until the appointment of Noel Chin in Jan 1964 until Aug 1968 when he was transferred to All Saints School, KKas Principal. rev Father Colin Hurford, then a teacher of SM St Paul ,became the acting Principal until 1970.

The senior Kok is 74 today and still residing in Beaufort. His son, Vincient Kok studied at the secondary school where he completed Form 5 in 1978. Many years after his return from overseas in 1988, Vincient became the Chairman of the School Management Board of SM St Paul today.

"We (board) have taken over management of the computer lab and invested RM40,000 in a Microsoft lessons programme for Form One students since last year. This year, we have some 130 students in the programme. We have employed one graduate teacher and 2 assistants to conduct the lessons. This is our contribution to St Paul's Secondary School", said Vincient.

Special Report
DAILY EXPRESS
10th Aug 2008

Tribute to Past Chairmen of St Paul's School Board

Past Chairmen play vital role in St Paul's School-Beaufort

As ex-St Paulians walk down the memory lane in the school's 50th anniversary celebration on August 18th,2008 they will recollect the important role played by past chairmen of the school Executive Council.

Reginald R.Lawes, a rubber planter and GM of the Woodford Estates was the Chairman from 1962 to July 1969. He is married to a local Sabahan and one of their children, Nicholas John Lawes (born in Beaufort) is back in Sabah. He took a keen interest in the school affairs and helped the school in many ways. Word had it that he was always generous in his donations to the school and society. He reportedly showed a keen interest in sports development in Beaufort. At one time, he was the only football referee available in the district. Lawes was succeeded by J I Mathews ,also a planter and later the GM of Woodford Estates. he was held in high regard by the Beaufort Community for his philanthropy, his initiative to conduct type writing classes for Kampung folks and his role as Chairman of the Sabata Beaufort Branch.

Interestingly, four of his children studied at St Paul's school - Datuk Harris Matthews (ex-GM of Sabah Rubber Industry Board) Datuk Dr. Allan Matthews (Chief representative of DKSH Holdings (M) Bhd as well as past president of the Rotary Club of Likas Bay and twice President of the Sabah Pharmaceutical Society), Nelson Matthews ,then the school captain in 1969, was a teacher in Lahad Datu, Beaufort and Membakut, and daughter Beatrice Matthews ,an ex staff nurse at Beaufort Hospital (now residing in Brisbane ,Australia). The senior Matthews passed away in 1973.


Special Report
DAILY EXPRESS
10th Aug 2008 

 

CM among prominent leaders produced by St Paul

Not many are aware that SM St Paul has produced some prominent leaders and citizens. In the words of the school's Golden Jubilee Celebration Organising Chairman ,Vincient Kok and Dr. Allen Mathews (both Ex St Paulians), the 1970 Senior Cambridge School Certficate class saw a bright rising star among the students.

He is non other than our current Chief Minister of Sabah.,YAB Datuk Seri Musa Hj Aman. Datuk Seri has continued to show interest in the development of St Paul's school. We have invited him to grace the occasion on August 18th. they said.

A delegation from the organising Commitee and ex-St Paulians led by Kok ,recently paid a courtesy call on Musa to brief him on the event. According to Kok, and Dr. Mathews , Musa has a soft spot for both primary and secondary schools. Through the intercession of the CM, the school managed to build its computer lab ,complete with some 30 computer sets, with financial assistance from the State Government.

On Nov11, 2006 ,the CM declared open the lab ,witnessed by then Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Govt. Dato Hjh Azizah DSP Hj Mohd Dun, Klias Assemblyman Datuk Lajim Ukin, Director of Education Normah Gagoh, then Beaufort District Wong Foo Tin, chairman of the school management Board Vincient Kok ,Board members and ex-students. Despite his busy schedule ,Musa turned up for the 2004 reunion of ex-stpaulians at the residence of Dr.Mathews in KK. Former teacher cum acting principal Father Colin Hurford and wife Margaret

were also present. State minister of community Development & Consumer Affairs ,Dato Hjh Azizah DSP Hj Mohd Dun is an 'old girl' of the school. She completed Form 3 at the school in 1971 before joining Maktab Sabah and later became the State first woman magistrate .

In fact, her father the late Datuk Mohd Dun Banir then an Usno-Lumadan Assemblyman declared open the St Paul's Science Lab in June 25th 1965, according to our records", said Dr.Mathews.

As member of Parliament for Beaufort (2004-2008) now as State Minister, she had rendered assistance to the school within her capacity. I believe in giving incentives in cash or kind such as certificate of merit to academic achievers from the PMR/SPM examinations. I'll continue to do so as much as possible." said Azizah who had donated jerseys and computers ,among other necessities ,to her alma mater.

Currently, Dr. Mathews is spearheading efforts to start an alumni association. "I have accepted the post of Protem Chairman for the benefit of the secondary school" he said.

UiTM professor Rahman Kimsin and Beaufort District Officer Mohd Sidek Hj Abdul Jubar are also 'old boys'. Current Head of the education service sector (State education department), Bali Yusof and retired Head of the school sector Mohd Shafie Matzain completed Form 5 at SM St Paul in 1971.

"Dato Azizah was our schoolmate " recalled Bali, also an ex-teacher of the school. Other ex-students from the earlier batches ,who have carved successful careers for themselves in their working life included : Datuk Stephen Foo (former state attorney general) ,Chok Chin Tian (former Chief executive officer of Sabah Medical centre) ,Datuk Rahid Gador and Foo Fook Ming (veteran politicians), Chin Chee Kee (Chairman of the KK Charitable Foundation & Secretary of the Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry ) Charles Ungas Bodok (Former Sabah Rubber Industry Board Deputy GM) Kamis Awang Ali (former Dep Director (2) of Sabah Foundation), Shaddy Hj Nashah (ex-Asst District Officer) and retired police officers Absul Mali Abbas and Robert Linggi. Chin has made a donation of RM1000 in support of the school's Golden Jubilee celebration.

Special Report
DAILY EXPRESS
10 Aug 2008  

Former Acting Principal,congratulates St.Paul's School

In his reminiscences, former teacher and acting Principal, Father Colin Hurford said he arrived in Sabah in Sept 1963. "Just in time to see the last British Governor (Sir William Goode) plummed and all said into the sunset.

The next day , I was at the padang in KK to see the inauguration of Malaysia. Since then, the country has taken enormous strides forward to become a very prosperous nation and I am pleased to say that St Paul's has made a contribution to this. " he said in congratulatory message.

According to father Hurford, St Paul's at that time had a boarding house and six classrooms and students were taking Secondary 3 examinations for the first time. "Mr (now Father) Noel Chin arrived and it was under his inspired leadership that the school was really built up to 5th Form status. The main problem was recruiting teachers but we had an enthusiastic local and expatriate staff who did work very hard despite lack of resources.

Money was another difficulty and I would like to thank parents ,local business people and others who contributed very generously (as no doubt they still do) to the school's development," he recalled.

During his seven years in Sabah (1963-1970), the school grew from 300 students to about 720. He also remembers that the school didn't have a science teacher.

"So, I prayed hard ! Within one week , a young English student-Hugh Kingston -was seen walking down the road asking for St Paul's. He had been sent by the voluntary Service Organisation (VSO) which had forgotten to tell the school he was coming.

St Paul's has invaluable support from the VSO and Peace Corps movements ". In 1966, Father Hurford was the form teacher of the first batch of senior Cambridge school certificate students. As acting Principal in 1969, he made 3 observations- the willingness of both staff and students to take part in various school activities and to help in any way they can. Parents and other members of the community have help the school generously by way of donations , although passing of examination is very important., the most important thing a school can give is training in moral and spiritual values which last, not just for this lifetime,but for eternity.

We do not receive any support from outside the country and rely on the grant of 50 pc from the Govt and the generosity of people who lived in the district for all improvements in Buildings and surroundings". he wrote in the 1969 School Magazine (The Leaven) .

On the Boarding House, Father Hurford said students of all races were living together more or less in peace. " Just a few more memories ...the Boarding House Band played at local functions and for our concerts. The tension of examination results (no doubt, still a problem) generally good for a small town school. The floods and students splashing through water determined not to miss school. His abiding memory of Sabah and St Paul's is the wonderful hospitality and friendship received from staff .students and members of the town, and more recently ,former students.

He and wife Margaret were on a down memory lane trip to Sabah in 2004. We were very impressed when we last saw the school that year and I treasure the gift from the Sabah Chief Minister at our last reunion " he said.

Father Hurford has a few regrets. His main one is that he did not learn Bahasa or Hakka but there never seem to be time. "I very much admired and still so, those who speak at least two, if not three different languages. You put English people to shame." he quipped.

Special Report
DAILY EXPRESS
10th August 2008 

 

St Paul's is 50 and doing well

Founded in 1958, SM St Paul is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this month. A top school in Beaufort, it has consistently performed well in the SPM examnination since 2005.in fact, it is one of the top 10 secondary schools in a rural setting. But, unlike achiever schools in the state capital with better access to the media ,its success story is less publicised, be it academic or co-curricular.

A proud present principal Ms Tan Boon Kyee said the school has notched an overall passing rate in the region of 98pc in the SPM examination for 3 consecutive years.

It is as follows:- 2005-98.7pc, 2006-98.8pc, 2007-98.2pc.

"28 students scored 5As and above last year. Of the figure ,3 scored 9As, 1 8As,3 7As ,9-6As and 11-5As. Lian Sooth Tying emerged as the school's best student. She obtained 12As" She said.

And in the PMR examininations, Tan noted there was a marked improvement from an overall passing percentage of 64.1 in 2006 to 79.7 last year. The school secured 78.1 pc passes in 2005.
Of the 33 scorers (5As and above) in 2007, six had 8As ,13 with 7As ,three 6As and 11 got 5As.

On record, SM St Paul also made a name for itself in its co-curriculum (especially in public speaking and debate) at district and state levels, according to the principal.

This year , we were the Beaufort district champion in the Pesta Pantun. The school which represented Beaufort Zone was declared the first runner up in the state level English Debate Competition held in Kota Belud earlier this year.

Last year, the school won the championship title in badminton and basketball tournaments, and was placed third in athletics, all of these district level.

SM St Paul is a 'double session' school with an enrolment of 850 and staffed by 57 teachers. Classes are up to Form Five with one bridge class.

The other pride of the school is form 4 Science student Cliff Asher R.Ongil who was one of the 2007 PMR top ten students in Sabah. A school prefect and a badminton player. this English debater represented Beaufort Debate Competition. He was selected by MEASAT Satellite Systems & Maxis Communications to be part of the 25 international student group to Russia and the MEASAT-3A Communications Sattelite during the school holidays this month.

Daily Express
10th Aug 2008
Special Repor

The Principals of SM St Pauls

APR 2008 - 2010 ..............................MS TAN BOON KYEE

JAN 2000 - APR 2008 .............................MR SEAH SOO LIN

APR 1989 - JAN 2000 .............................MR NG KIM HUAT

OCT 1969 - APR 1989 .............................MR GOH CHIT YONG

AUG 1968 - OCT 1969 .............................REV COLIN HURFORD

JAN 1964 - AUG 1968 .............................MR NOEL CHIN

AUG 1963 - DEC 1963 .............................REV JAMES PUN

JAN 1962 - JUL 1963 .............................MR THIEN THAU KIONG

JAN 1961 - DEC 1961 .............................MR NORMAN BISSETT

NOV 1960 - JAN 1961 .............................MS OLWEN PARKER

OCT 1959 - NOV 1960 .............................MR. REV A TUDBALL

JAN 1958 - OCT 1959 .............................MR. KOK HON SIONG