WINSOME: RRSS was the 2010 MSS Miri champion. In the background is the 16.8ft tall challenge trophy.
RIAM Road Secondary School (RRSS) Miri — the biggest Chinese Independent School (CIS) in the state – champions the espousal of quality secondary education.
Although not listed among the top performing schools in the country, it is, nonetheless, a progressive model school with a proud record to boot, especially in the last six years.
According to the school’s chief executive officer Dato’ Dr Fong Onn Min, RRSS, which is also the nation’s first partner school with Germany, is noted for its unique curriculum, academic excellence, dominance in sports and strict discipline.
One of its students, Goh Fui Phing, has attained the distinction of being Malaysia’s best SPM performer for scoring 16 A1s.
She is now studying in Imperial College in the United Kingdom under a JPA scholarship.
“We have also produced a 100M sprint champion and MSS ASEAN record breaker in Ambrose Jilom who is the most likely successor of former Olympian Watson Nyambek,” he said.
The school’s population has increased drastically to 1,532 this year from only about 200 in 2005, thus making it the biggest among the state’s 14 Chinese Independent Schools.
Set up in 1966 mainly to cater for the Chinese community, RRSS now has a multi-racial and multi-cultural composition with some foreign students, teachers from India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines and three coaches from China.
It is a modern, progressive and tri-lingual (English, Chinese and Malay) co-ed school, fostering holistic education with a unique curriculum emphasising science, maths and English and catering to students sitting for PMR-SPM, Cambridge A-Level, UEC (United Examination Certificate) of the Confederated Chinese School Boards of Malaysia and STPM.
“The unique feature of our school is that it has absorbed all the good points from the syllabi of the Chinese Independent Schools and government schools. It also prepares students adequately for different exams and tertiary education in the world’s top universities,” Dr Fong said.
The school publishes its own science and maths books which are relatively more comprehensive and have proven effective in preparing students for exams.
“With the abolition of the PMR by 2014, our school will still have at least two Form Three tests — JSME (Junior Science and Maths in English Exam) monitored and verified by external examiners from renowned universities, notably, Professor D David Wilton (Oxford University) and Professor Dr Kang (Yale University and CALTEC, USA) — and Junior UEC.”
“This is important to monitor the students’ progress before they sit for SPM in Form Five,” Dr Fong explained.
Unique curriculum
All primary six school leavers, irrespective of their medium of learning, may apply to RRSS to attend Transition Class or Form One. Chinese, Malay and English are compulsory but Chinese and Malay are taught at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels to enable students with no basics in these languages to gradually master them.
The Bruins’ brass band, the only one in Sarawak to have passed the British Brassband exam in 2009.
The school curriculum is flexible and geared towards helping students with different learning abilities and backgrounds.
In Form One, the core subjects are Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese (three levels), science (in English), maths (in English) and history (in Malay).
In addition, students need to choose one of the following groups as electives: Group A (two subjects) — geography (in Malay) and living skills (in Malay); Group B (three subjects) — geography (in Chinese), history (in Chinese) and art; Group C (five subjects or Group A + Group B) and Group D (seven subjects or Group A + Group B + science and maths (both in Chinese).
“Therefore, the workload is not heavier than SMK’s except that RRSS students learn more English, science and maths,” Dr Fong said.
Primary six students in Chinese schools are strongly advised to go through the Transition class at RRSS as it is designed to help lay a strong foundation and facilitate effective learning in English, science and maths in Form One and upwards.
Dr Fong pointed out that the school’s Transition class was very different from others, comprising English, Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia; science (in English); maths (in English); Chinese literature (the Arts of War); history (in Malay), art, computer (optional) and physical education.
RRSS is essentially a single-session school. Classes run from 7.30am to 3pm from Monday to Thursday but only till 1pm on Friday. Tuition in major subjects is incorporated into the timetable. For exam classes (Forms 3 and 5), there will be free extra tuition in the afternoon.
“This unique curriculum works really well. We won the national four-star Excellence Award (Anugerah Sekolah Cemerlang Malaysia) for highest score in Sarawak in 2009,” he said.
Co-curricular activities are conducted after class.
“RRSS does not have to strictly implement the “one-student, one-sport” policy. Instead, it practises the “one-student, one-activity” policy which is more practical and realistic,” Dr Fong stressed.
Wide choice
The students have a wide variety of co-curricular activities to choose from — from sports and games, uniform bodies, cultural clubs and societies to public speaking and chess.
As a result, the school has been dominant in sports such as athletics, basketball, badminton and volleyball in MSS Miri and CIS national sports meets. It has also produced many outstanding singers, golfers, swimmers, tennis players, Chinese wushu exponents, lion dancers, athletes, basketballers and badminton players.
Over the past several years, RRSS has produced the largest number of state athletes, and has since October 2010, been named the Sarawak State Sports Council Centre of Excellence for athletics in recognition of its achievements in this particular sport.
Consequently, the school is able to give out Excellence in Athletics Scholarships to three of its outstanding athletes. Voon Vui Wei and Reymar Manuel Tabari received RM18,000 each while Ambrose Jilom is awarded RM28,000 annually to enable him to study for advanced diploma in mechanical engineering at the Riam Institute of Technology (RIT).
Among the school’s major achievements are winning 51 gold medals in MSS Miri where RRSS has been the champion since 2010, topping the national CIS sports meets and being the national CIS badminton defending champions in 2008 and 2011.
In other co-curricular activities, the school has also excelled at the state, national and international levels. It won eight gold medals in a wushu competition in Hong Kong in 2010. Its Bruins’ brass band, the only one in Sarawak, passed the British Brassband exam with Eddy Ng scooping the award for best drum major in Sarawak in 2009.
Conducive
A most important contributing factor to the school’s many successes is its conducive learning environment.
Not only is the compound beautiful and serene, and all the classrooms air-conditioned, CCTV cameras are also installed at strategic points around the school.
“Safety of the students is our top concern. No vehicles are allowed into the compound except when it rains,” Dr Fong said.
The school is continuously sourcing for the best teachers as it believes only good teachers can produce good students.
The school also practices a high standard of discipline and moral conduct which is typical of Chinese Independent Schools.
Students are not allowed to bring handphones to school and smoking is deemed a very serious offence — inside or outside the school.
“We believe good discipline is the key to success,” Dr Fong stressed.
Equally important is the strong support from the board of management, teachers and parents.
“I must express my gratitude to them all for their support without which there will be no RRSS of today. The board of management especially are the school’s main pillars,” he said.
Among the board members are Dato’ Sri Law Kiu Kiong, Tan Sri Datuk Jimmy Lau Hieng Wui, Datuk Yee Ming Seng, Hii King Chiong, Datuk Ha Tiung Noon, Dato Sri Lau Hieng Su, Nicholas Ling Kie King and Hii Teck Yun.
Excellent prospects
On completing Form Five (SPM), the students may proceed to Cambridge A-Level in RIT in the same campus before going on to top universities to pursue courses of their choice.
“They may also sit for UEC (Senior 3) and STPM, thus killing three birds with one stone, and at no extra fees,” Dr Fong noted.
According to him, many students prefer pursuing an advanced diploma in engineering, commerce, automotives or accounting in RIT before going overseas to complete the final one or two years of their degrees, thus saving time and cost.
RIT too has won several international accolades such as the Best-in-the-World Awards in Cambridge A-Level and the Best-in-Asia or Southeast Asia Awards in C&G mechanical engineering.
“Indeed, RRSS is the best stepping stone to the best universities in the world and the best choice for primary six school leavers,” Dr Fong said.
This is in line with the school’s vision to be the best in Malaysia. Its motto is “If I Want, I Surely Can.” Its mascot is Bruin and its flower is gardenia.