Hwa Chong Junior College, also known as HCJC/HJC, is a junior college located in Singapore. Being one of the premier institutions for pre-university study, it has consistently maintained a good reputation for producing some of the top students in the country. In the year 2001, for example, two out of the three President Scholars were former students of HCJC.
The college is located along Bukit Timah Road, beside The Chinese High School and nearby to various schools such as National Junior College and Nanyang Girls High School.
While many alumni are proud of the fact that Hwa Chong is a top school, they are unlikely to consider this the real reason why they are so fond of the college. As any Hwachongian will tell you, the best part of spending two years in HCJC is the school spirit, the feeling of togetherness that binds all their hearts during the various school events.
Indeed, one very important college activity would be during the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as MAF), where all current students and their seniors will meet up in the college compound at night. For past students, it is a day of nostalgia and happy memories as they relive the two years they spent in "Huang Cheng", being "Yellow City" in Mandarin, as Hwa Chong is known as affectionately.
Other key features in the Hwa Chong culture are a penchant for song sessions and wild mass dances.
Most of the songs are written in Mandarin and vaguely belong to the folk genre; a large portion are written by students themselves, and are typically sung with acoustic guitar accompaniment.
The dances are choreographed by students as well, and are performed by a large group of people. Some are couple dances, where a guy will pair up with a girl.
From the official website:
Hwa Chong Junior College was founded in 1974. It was the first government-aided College established through the combined efforts of the Ministry of Education and a group of public-spirited community leaders. In June 1987, when the former College buildings at Bukit Timah campus were declared structurally unsound, Hwa Chong Junior College began a series of moves from one temporary location to another for the rest of the year. After spending four years and seven months (from 1987 to 1992) at Bukit Batok, a temporary site, Hwa Chong Junior College was re-established at the extensively rebuilt Bukit Timah campus in 1992. With the generous financial support of the College's management committee, the government, the alumni and well wishers, the College is now equipped with up-to-date facilities, ready to strive for excellence in all fields into the 21st century and beyond.
It is hoped that the future will continue to see Hwa Chong Junior College in the forefront of JC education, preparing the leaders for various fields of tomorrow. Thus we will be able to fulfil our responsibilities to serve our community to the best of our ability.