Anthony Abell College

College in Seria, Brunei

4°36′31.4″N 114°19′53.3″E / 4.608722°N 114.331472°E / 4.608722; 114.331472InformationFormer nameGovernment English School (1952–1958)School typeGovernmentMottoKata-Kata Itu Adalah Kota
(Words Are Cities)Opened17 December 1958; 65 years ago (1958-12-17)FounderSir Anthony AbellSchool districtCluster 6AuthorityMinistry of EducationPrincipalMas DianaGradesYears 7-11GenderCoeducationalNumber of students676YearbookSinaran PenuntutAffiliationsCIE
Upper Campus
Lower Campus

Anthony Abell College (abbrev: AAC;[1] Malay: Maktab Anthony Abell) is a government secondary school in Seria, a town in Belait District, Brunei. It was one of the earliest secondary schools to be established in the country. The school provides five years of general secondary education leading up to O Level qualification. It has 630 students. The current principal is Mas Diana binti Haji Abdul Samat.[2]

Etymology

The college is named after His Excellency Sir Anthony Foster Abell, a British colonial official who served as the 3rd Governor of Sarawak from 1949 to 1959.[3] The first draft of the constitution of Brunei, drafted by Abell and his colleagues, protected Brunei's sovereignty while also catering to the wishes of the country's Malay constitutional committee. In 1958, the 1957 London Negotiations were revisited in Brunei. At a meeting on 27 October 1958, at Istana Darul Hana, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III and Abell talked about the outcomes of the London negotiations.[4]

History

The school founded in December 1952 and was known as the Government English School.[5] The first building was only a scout hut located in Jalan Sultan, Kuala Belait. This building housed 22 students and one teacher who was also the principal, Mr. D.S. Carter.

In January 1953, the Government English School moved to Seria Town at the current Post Office site with a building of 2 classrooms. In January 1954, the school had its own building located between Jalan Tengah and Lorong 2 Seria accommodating 57 students.

In 1958, the school moved to the present building at Jalan Sultan Omar Ali, Seria. During the year, the first phase of the college building complex was opened by Sir Anthony Abell himself.[6] Clearing and piling for the college second phase were part of the work during the three government English schools construction projects in that same year. To commemorate the event of the college's renaming to Anthony Abell College, Abell officiated the opening and placed a plaque in the AAC on 18 December 1958.[7][8]

The construction of two coeducational preparatory and junior secondary schools, one in Kuala Belait and one in Tutong, with capacity for 1,080 students each, staff housing, and hostel accommodations for 400 of them (200 boys and 200 girls) constitutes the primary development project in English-medium education. This project was approved in 1966. After these two schools' preliminary sections are finished, the AAC preparatory annexes in Kuala Belait and Tutong, respectively, will be replaced.[9]

As of 1967, the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien College (SOASC) in Brunei Town, the AAC at Seria with preparatory annexes at Kuala Belait and Tutong, and the Raja Isteri Girls' High School (STPRI) are the three government English-medium schools. At the time, AAC was extended to School Certificate/GCE O Level. The preparatory and secondary divisions of the college are coeducational.[10]

There were preparatory courses offered in 1972 at the following schools: Sufri Bolkiah English School in Tutong, Perdana Wazir English School in Kuala Belait, AAC, and its associated buildings at several Malay primary schools.[11] In 1972, the newly constructed dorms for girls and boys at Perdana Wazir English School and AAC were still closed. They can't be opened until Kuala Belait and Seria's new sewage systems are finished.[12] From four to seven platoons, the Brunei Cadet Corps has expanded and is presently present at seven schools, including AAC.[13] The year's last project was the B$22,200 Block 6 Classrooms for AAC construction.[14]

In 2002, the college celebrated its Golden Jubilee.

Notable alumni

  • Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III giving a titah to the staff of AAC in 1963
    Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III giving a titah to the staff of AAC in 1963
  • The defunct AAC Annex Building in 2007
    The defunct AAC Annex Building in 2007
  • The Lower Campus in 2022
    The Lower Campus in 2022
  • Main entrance to Upper Campus in 2024
    Main entrance to Upper Campus in 2024
  • Gate D of Upper Campus in 2024
    Gate D of Upper Campus in 2024
  • The sport complex in 2024
    The sport complex in 2024

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Mahmud, Rokiah; Lim, Daniel (28 August 2022). "High-achieving students recognised". Borneo Bulletin Online. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam". www.moe.gov.bn. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Previous governors of Sarawak". sarawak.gov.my. The Sarawak government. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  4. ^ Hussainmiya, B. A. (2019). The Making of Brunei's 1959 Constitution. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Dua Orang Lagi Penuntut2 Dari Brunei Berangkat Ka U.K." (PDF). Pelita Brunei. 16 September 1956. p. 5.
  6. ^ Great Britain Colonial Office 1958, p. ii.
  7. ^ Great Britain Colonial Office 1958, p. 68.
  8. ^ "Pembukaan Rasmi Anthony Abell College" (PDF). Pelita Brunei. 15 December 1958. p. 6.
  9. ^ Brunei 1967, p. 139.
  10. ^ Brunei 1967, p. 138.
  11. ^ Brunei 1972, p. 144.
  12. ^ Brunei 1972, p. 246.
  13. ^ Brunei 1972, p. 474.
  14. ^ Brunei 1972, p. 524.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "1973 Sinaran Penuntut" (PDF). aacclassof1970. 1973. p. 22. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Sultan attends former deputy minister's funeral". www.sultanate.com. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  17. ^ "20 ORANG PENUNTUT2 DI BRUNEI LULUS PEPEREKSAAN "SARAWAK JUNIOR CERTIFICATE"" (PDF). Pelita Brunei (in Malay). 15 February 1956. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Former Armed Forces Staff and Commander of the RBAF Passed Away | Brunei's No.1 News Website". brudirect.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  19. ^ "BRUNEIresources.com - YAM Pengiran Anak Aziz". www.bruneiresources.com. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  20. ^ Norjidi, Danial (9 July 2022). "The ties that bind". Borneo Bulletin Online. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  21. ^ "CACCI Conference". Kowloon Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  22. ^ Nor Faridah Abdul Manaf (December 2011). "Introducing a Brunei Woman Writer: An Interview with Dayang Hajah Norsiah Abdul Gapar" (PDF). asiatic.iium.edu.my. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  23. ^ "1970 Sinaran Penuntut" (PDF). aacclassof1970. 1970. p. 9. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  24. ^ "Keputusan Penoh Perereksaan L.C.E." (PDF). www.pelitabrunei.gov.bn. 5 January 1972. p. 6. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Cover Story – Brunei's Olympians". YES Inspire | Magazines. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

Sources

  • "Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam". moe.gov.bn. Retrieved 2018-04-18.IGCSE examination.
  • "Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam - Secondary Education". www.moe.gov.bn. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  • 1955-, Asbol bin Haji Mail, Haji Awang (2010). Sejarah perkembangan pendidikan di Brunei, 1950-1985 (Cet. 2 ed.). Bandar Seri Begawan: Pusat Sejarah Brunei, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan. p. 56. ISBN 978-9991734484. OCLC 642642811.
  • Great Britain Colonial Office (1958). Brunei. H.M. Stationery Office.
  • Brunei (1967). Annual Report on Brunei. Printed at the Brunei Press.
  • Brunei (1972). Annual Report on the Social and Economic Progress of the People of Brunei. Printed at the Brunei Press.
  • 1973 Sinaran Penuntut
  • 1972 Sinaran Penuntut
  • 1970 Sinaran Penuntut