Tour Guide Script:

Disclaimer
This script need not be strictly followed when giving the visitors a tour of our school. Please
do include details on your daily school life when introducing them to the areas around the
school. Describe the places in the context of your personal experience in Hwa Chong

Route A:

 Clock Tower, Library & OTH (Registration Booth)

 Terraces, Field & Tan Kah Kee Statue
 KC Admin Centre
 SRC Science Block/ AEP (possible toilet/ water break stop)
 Tech Block/ AI Lab
 Kah Kee Hall
 Drama Centre/ HS General Office
 SALT Centre (possible toilet water break stop)

Route B:

 Clock Tower & OTH (Registration Booth)

 Terraces, Field & Tan Kah Kee Statue
 SALT Centre (possible toilet/ water break stop)
 Drama Centre/ HS General Office
 Kah Kee Hall
 Tech Block/ AI Lab
 KC Admin Centre
 SRC Science Block/ AEP (possible toilet/ water break stop)

Tours leaving the Clock Tower will alternate between Route A & Route B

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General Procedure

Introduction
● Introduce yourself politely to the visitors
● “Good afternoon / Nice to meet you…” “My name is… and I will be your tour guide
for this school tour this afternoon.”
● “Please feel free to ask any questions along the way.”
● “I will be bringing you to…” (Introduce the course you will be taking before starting
the tour)
● “This tour will last for about 45 min” (inform the duration of the tour lest they need
to leave early, they can back out before the start of the tour)
● “During this time, there will be opportunities for toilet breaks and water breaks.”

During tour
● Observe the visitors
o If they are tired and / or uninterested in the things you are saying, ask them
perhaps to take a break when we reach clock tower for refreshments or
otherwise tell them something interesting to spice up the tour
● Behaviour
o Be open to questions and answer them politely
o Be casual and friendly throughout the tour and engage in casual banter
o Share your school experience with them, and engage them with questions
about their school
o DO NOT refer to the script during the duration of the school tour, instead use
your own knowledge about the place during the tour if you cannot recall
● Focus more on your experience rather than the historical context of the facilities in
the school

At the end of the tour:

● Make eye contact and thank each family/ group of visitors personally
● DO NOT give the visitors your contact number/ email. Direct to the various booths or
to the teachers should they have further questions.

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Notes on Facilities in Hwa Chong Institution

Clock Tower
● Original school building when school was founded.
● Designated a national monument.
● Important trivia 1: First constructed in 1925, it not only served as a clock tower, it
was also used as a vantage point and surveillance tower by the Japanese during the
Japanese Occupation of Singapore.
● Important trivia 2: During the tumultuous years of WW2, the four-faced clock was
ruined but was later restored in the 1970s and again in the 1990s.

Ooi Tiong Ham Hall

● Original school hall.
● The school first started from this single building. This was the school hall, and behind
it, the 4 classrooms that we started with.

Kong Chian Library

● One of two libraries (to cater to the mega-school of 4000) – High School & Junior
College
● Move away from traditional concept of book-filled library – the library is now a place
to gather information and create / share knowledge
● Also cosy and warm
● Have many facilities like the Discussion Room and even the ICT Area for flipped-
learning lessons.
● Experience: We usually use the library to meet our mentors or team mates for
projects or consultations. I also use the library for study sessions with my friends and
teams before CCA.
● You may visit the library later to learn more about our various academic programmes
today.

Auditorium
● Site of weekly assemblies where the principals personally engages students in a
student-hosted panel discussion on a pertinent topic regarding current affairs /
school policy chosen by students
● Experience: The auditorium is also used as an avenue for larger scaled briefings or
events such as The Hague Model United Nations (THMUN). Eg “One of my favourite
events at the Auditorium the Commencement Ceremony, where I get to see my
seniors celebrate the end of their High School Hwa Chong journey.”

Terraces, Field & Tan Kah Kee Statue

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 ● Combined flag Raising is held here every Monday morning (that’s ~4000 people
gathered together), with the school’s Military Band playing the National Anthem
and School Song
● Tan Kah Kee is the Founder of our school. He donated the land and financed the
building of the school. Today, we have the largest campus in Southeast Asia—96
football fields of space!
● The MRT track actually runs directly under the school field. LTA actually dug up the
field a few years ago to construct the Downtown Line. When it was done, we were
“given” a new track and an upgraded field.

Kong Chian Admin Centre

● Structure
o Central Admin Building
o Level 1 – Reception
o Level 2 – Principal’s Office
o Two other admin centres at High School and College to assist teachers in
respective sections
● Both the High School and JC have their own offices, but this is the central admin
centre that co-ordinates both sections of the school. This building houses the offices
of the principals and directors, the finance department, the central admin
department and various conference rooms.
● Experience e.g. Being a student, we do not come to this place often, we have our
own general office (or Staffroom Level 1). When we do come here, we will be either
collecting important information from MOE or submitting important forms to the
school such as when we first register to enter the school

SRC & AEP

● State-of-the-art science research facilities
● Top local universities (NUS/NTU) set up special facilities here to conduct advanced
(undergraduate-level) courses for students passionate in the sciences
o Experience: I have used the biology lab located on the first level for our
experiments. I have also recalled many students coming to our school during
the sabbatical week to use the facilities in the SRC – a week in Term 1 and in
Term 2 used for students to bid for offered courses that are outside of the
academic curriculum; a week for us to rest and learn things that we are
interested in.
● Comprises Art Block as well
o Arts and Science students deliberately placed together to foster greater
communication / interaction between groups of students who otherwise
wouldn’t usually talk to each other
o Special arts facilities for animation / photography / installation art etc.

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 o Cater to students with a passion for the visual arts and taking Higher Art as a
subject
o Most facilities were student-requested (especially art gallery) – recognizing
that students are key stakeholders in the development of these facilities
o Art gallery displaying only original work by HCI Higher Art students and
updated once per semester (provide inspiration to younger students /
showcase work to parents & visitors / create a sense of pride amongst
students / motivate students to put in their best in every art project) –
various sub-galleries showcasing animation, installation art etc.
● Level 2 – Chemistry Laboratories (advanced equipment for organic / inorganic
analysis)
● Level 1 – Biology Laboratories / Exhibition Centre / Resource Room
● Basement – Physics Laboratories (advanced equipment for laser analysis of wine
etc.). HCI’s Primary Data Centre
o 3D printers
o Materials and facilities to build items for Category 3 – Inventions our
Independent Studies (Project Work)
Tech Block/ AI Lab
● Houses school Computer Labs. Hwa Chong has been conducting computing classes
since the 1980s, recognising the potential or harnessing technology to various areas
of work and research.
● Construction of a new state-of-the art Artificial Intelligence Lab, to support our new
Computing Talent Programme

Kah Kee Hall

● Site of many large-scale school celebrations such as CNY celebrations
● Able to accommodate all~1,500 staff and students at High School
● You may visit Kah Kee Hall later to learn more about our various DSA Sports.

Drama Centre
● Proscenium style theatre
● Special equipment / acoustics for staging of student performances / production
● Experience: Other than the Auditorium, we use this venue to conduct our
Consortium assembly, other important functions.

High School General Office

● Both the High School and JC have their own offices. There is also Kong Chain Admin
Centre that co-ordinates both sections of the school. This building houses the offices
of the principals and directors, the finance department, the central admin
department and various conference rooms.

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 ● Experience e.g. Being a student, we would use the “fishtank”, a glass enclosed area
on level 2 to meet our teachers for consultations. We also collect important
information from MOE or submitting important forms at the reception area.

SALT Centre
● Facilities
o Various rooms for uniformed groups
o Sports facilities – well-equipped cardio/weights rooms open to all students
especially athletes
o MPH – mock up of Parliament to cater for gatherings of student leaders and
lessons in Literature/Economics and related subjects where students can
utilize the facility as a place to engage in constructive debate
o Various music rooms – specially designed acoustics for each room (Band, CO,
SO etc.) such that each performing arts group sounds best in its own room
whilst sounding awkward if they moved elsewhere
o Black box – shoebox style performing arts space, for smaller groups of
student performers to experiment with innovative styles of theatre
o Most of our CCAs – the uniformed groups and performing arts use this venue.
● The Name – Ong Teng Cheong
o Exemplifies values of servant leadership —started out as the leader of NTUC
(Singapore’s trade unions), fighting for the interests of the common worker –
before rising to the highest office in the land as Singapore’s first elected
President – his election (as opposed to appointment) is testament to his
strong commitment to the principle of servant leadership (HCI’s leadership
model)
o Man of Vision – as Transport Minister, went against the advice of his
colleagues and transportation experts to authorize the construction of the
MRT system which is today an ever-growing metro network and resounding
success
o Man of the Arts – a Renaissance man and musician who deeply appreciated
and patronised the fine arts

“This marks the end of our school tour. If you would like to join us for our Parents’
Symposium, we’ll be happy to show you the way to the Auditorium. We can also show
you the way to the Academic Booths in the Library, or the CCA Booths at Kah Kee Hall”

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