History

OUR HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Tampines Secondary School was established in 1986 and named after Tampines New Town. It was one of the first schools built to serve the new community. On 2nd January 1986, our founding Principal, Mr. Koh Sei Hian, together with 12 teachers, welcomed our inaugural 458 pupils. These pioneers laid a firm foundation for the Tampinesian spirit. The school was officially opened by Mr. Phua Bah Lee, then Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Defence) and Member of Parliament for Tampines, on the auspicious date of 8th August 1988. Our founding educators charted the journey for TPSS with the vision that young Tampinesians should acquire both character values and practical skills to serve society. The school motto then, "Betterment of Self for Society", is an aspiration which we still stand by today.

TPSS underwent infrastructural upgrading towards the 1990s to stay relevant in the age of growing informational technologies. Through the successive leadership of Mdm Daulath Tajuddin, Dr. Poon Chew Leng, and Mr. Neo Tick Watt, TPSS was gradually transformed into an institution ready to meet the 21st century. During this phase of transformation, our Tampines educators focused heavily on articulating a strong student culture and student voice, emphasising that students must grow to become self-directed in their learning and pursuit of their passion.

TPSS underwent PRIME in 2008. In tandem with physical change was also a fresh vision towards a more pervasive culture of exploring imagined possibilities. Mr. Balamurugan Krishnasamy, our fifth Principal, turned the campus into a vibrant and energetic space for students to express themselves innovatively. It was during this period when the school put in place building blocks to create a niche in visual and performing arts and creative engineering, supported by our Life Long Learning Programme and Applied Learning Programme respectively.

In 2016, Mr. Shane Kwok, took up the leadership of TPSS, seeking to guide the next generation of students towards future-readiness. Recognising the need to build resilience and excellence to face challenges of the future, we adopted a fresh vision of: A caring community of Learners, Thinkers and Leaders. This vision carries on with Mr Lan Mingjun, who led the school from 2020, and our new principal, Mrs Tay Yang Fern, whom we welcomed in 2024.

In the years ahead, TPSS will continue to provide a well-rounded education in a nurturing environment to prepare Tampinesians to make full use of the opportunities given to them. To develop our students into concerned citizens and confident learners, we aspire to champion engaging learning experiences to enhance their critical thinking, communication, and collaborative skills. For more details, please read Mrs Tay’s message.