Tucked away in an obscure corner of Thomson Road and Thomson Lane is the Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home, sitting on a site whose significance has long been forgotten. Operating in a cluster of single-storey blocks of a style reminiscent of schools of the 1950s, the layout of the home points to it having once been one of many built in the 1950s as part of an ambitious school building effort that we have all but forgotten about. The former school’s name, Lee Kuo Chuan, also links to the late philanthropist and rubber magnate Mr.Lee Kong Chian, being the name of his father.
The former school and its soon to be lost yard.
The school construction programme was part of a ten-year education plan, known also as the “Neilson Plan” – attributed to Mr. John Barrie Neilson, a Director of Education with the aim of providing free universal primary education to all in Singapore within ten years. The plan was supplemented by a five-year plan to accelerate the effort to meet the pressing need to provide places in schools for the growing population of children. The latter plan was put in place by the the Mr. Neilson’s successor, Mr. A. W. Frisby. The implementation of the first plan saw the Teachers’ Training College, the predecessor to the National Institute of Education, established in 1950.
All three acres of the land, on which the school was built – part of a former quarry, was donated by Mr. Lee Kong Chian as its name does suggest. Mr. Lee, who first came across from China with his father, a tailor, in the early 1900s, made generous generous donations to education and to the poor – an effort that is being continued by the Lee Foundation, which he founded. Among the projects Mr. Lee funded was the construction of the original National Library at Stamford Road for which he laid the foundation stone in August 1957. Mr. Lee donated a sum of $375,000 to that effort on the condition that the library charged no membership fees.
Lee Kuo Chuan School in the 1950s (posted by Chong Meng on the Lee Kuo Chuan Primary School Facebook Group).
Interestingly the school seems to have lent its name to Kuo Chuan Constituency, one of three new parliamentary constituency carved out of Toa Payoh Constituency for the 1972 General Election. The constituency, whose first elected MP was Mr. P. Selvadurai, and last Mr. Wong Kan Seng, was absorbed into Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency in 1988.
A classroom in the 1950s (posted by Chong Meng on the Lee Kuo Chuan Primary School Facebook Group).
The school became Lee Kuo Chuan Primary School when it merged with Thomson Primary School in 1985 and moved it new premises at Ah Hood Road. As Lee Kuo Chuan Primary, it operated until the end of 1997 when it was shut down.
A view over the area in the early 1970s when Toa Payoh New Town was taking shape. The school can be seen in the lower left of the photo with Times Building then occupying the other part of the former quarry site.
The home, started by a former nurse Madam Lee Ah Mooi in 1963 at her home in Chong Pang Village, does itself have a little story. It was set up to provide care for former Samsui women and Amahs, many of whom were sworn to singlehood, in their old age. It occupied several sites before moving into its current premises in 1986. It has also been in the news as a possible victim of the North-South Expressway project. Based on updates provided on its Facebook Page, it does seem that the home will be able to remain in place until 2020, although its kitchen and laundry spaces and its front yard would be affected.
More on the school, the old age home and the impact of the North-South Expressway project on it can be found at the following links:
- Lee Kuo Chuan Primary School (Facebook Group)
- Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home (home’s website)
- Uncertain fate for old age home (The New Paper, 8 January 2012)
- Life Memories of Hsu Phillips (Singapore Memory Project)
The Long and Winding Road 
Very interesting to read about the history of this place, when I lived in Singapore I regularly visited the condo next door as part of my job and always observed the home on my walk up Thomson Lane. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing about this history of LKC. From what I understand, the home is now on a 3 year renewable lease. Hoping that the home will remain there for good as her son Mr Then Mun Wah, along with is brother and nephew are doing some wonderful work caring for the residents.
Hi
I was a student in 1959 but moved to Toa Payoh Integrated Primary School from 1960 to 1964. Although a Malay, there was no Malay language teacher for us Pri One students, while at Toa Payoh Primary there were Malay teachers. So i guess that was why we were transferred there. Fyi my older sister was at Lee Kuo Chuan from 1957 to 1959, then to Toa Payoh. I still remember that in 1959, Saturday was also a normal school day!
After PAP came to power in June 1959 after winning the first fully-elected Legislative Assembly General Elections held on 30 May 1959
all Singapore schools have to conduct classes on Saturdays. Hitherto it was a 5-day week for lessons with Saturdays used for extracurricular activities like scouting.
My wife taught in Lee Kuo Chuan School from 1964 to 1967.
My Primary School from 1979 to 1984 (7 to 12 yrs old). My primary school friends from Lee Kuo Chuan are still actively connected thru group whatsapp (about 20 or more of us and we are all 48 this year 2020). We meet up at least once or twice a year. When I was in Primary 1, I can remember that the Fat Malay Aunty in our canteen sold Mee Rebus for only 10 cents a bowl. I ve visited Lee Ah Mooi Old Age home 3 times in t last 10 years. Our once upon a time school’s canteen is now used us their kitchen for chefs to cook for the old folks. Walking thru this compound brings back great memories. Life was simple then.. truly miss that.. Li Ching
Lee Kuo Chuan School was one of a series of English-language government primary schools built from 1950 when the demand for English education necessitated it because of the 1949 en of civil war in China and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on 1st October in the same year.
Chinese immigrants no longer hoped to send their children back to China for tertiary education and thus had to settle down permanently in Singapore rather than harbouring the hopes to return to their homeland, mostly in the souther Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian.
All those schools built then were single storey and of similar standard architecture. Other schools built then included Rayman School, Trafalgar School, Griffiths School, Playford School, Winstedt School, Havelock School, Cantonment School, Duchess School and Keppel School.