St. James's School

St. James's School is located at Kuala Belait town along Jalan Mckerron and corner Jalan Maulana. The main gate faces various government offices such as the Post Office, Labour Department and Immigration Office. The south wing faces the Jubli Park, overlooking the South China Sea. From the north wing of the building, lies the TelBru Office. St. James’s School is situated at the Kuala Belait district, Brunei Darussalam, an oil producing Islamic country in the island of Borneo in South East Asia.

The school has been established for more than 70 years and offers education for Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary levels. St James’s School prepares her students to be well rounded individuals capable of meeting the challenges of the new millennium. The School's motto is Esprit de Corps /espri de kor/, which means a feeling of pride and mutual loyalty shared by the members of a group.

“Be a Progressive School”. “St. James’ School, an exemplary institution, inspires students to be life-long learners who can compete globally and contribute significantly to the community and nation”. Our school’s Core values: LIGHTERS

• Leadership
• Initiative
• Gratitude
• Honesty
• Teamwork
• Excellence
• Respect
• Self-Discipline

The first St. James’s School classrooms were initially housed in the old wooden church built from the rubbles of an earlier Anglican Church built in the 1930’s but destroyed during World War II. With an enrollment of 18 young and eager Chinese-Malay pupils, Mrs. Yap Shak Chung (Peggy) St. James’s pioneer teacher, taught her first lessons on Monday, 9th April 1956. Within six months, the number of pupils had increased from 18 to 40. Primary 1 and 2 classes were started and the services of another teacher, Mrs. Lai En Phin were engaged. In September 1957, Miss Olwen Parker took charge of the school.

St. James’s School served those families in Kuala Belait who wished to send their children to St. Margaret’s School but who felt that the long bus journey to Seria was too strenuous for the small children. Accordingly, the children studied at St. James’s until they completed Primary 2 and then moved into an appropriate Primary 3 class at St. Margaret’s.

The need to expand and build a new church and school building had to be met due to the growing number of parishioners and students. St. James’s School continued to flourish through the 60’s. Mr. John Heath was appointed as the new Headmaster of both schools at the beginning of the year and later promoted as Principal in 1963 with Mr. P>E Mathews as Headmaster. Primary 3, 4, 5, and 6 were later added and classes were conducted in both morning and afternoon to meet the shortage of classrooms.

An L-shaped school building was later completed in 1966 which made it possible to conduct all classes in the morning. 1966 was an important year for St. James’s as it marked the start of the Lower Secondary education when a Form 1 class was started. Form 2 was started in 1967 and Form 3 in 1968.

At the end of 1968, the first batch of St. James’s students sat for the L.C.E Examination for the first time. By the end of that same year, the student population had grown to 249 pupils in the Primary Department and 88 students in the Secondary.

The memories of the 70’s could be best transcribed for personal recollections of former St. James’s students who are now members of the school’s teaching staff. They vividly recall that conditions during those days were very much different from today. There were so much greenery around then, trees and vegetation surrounded the school’s perimeter fenced with wire and the main school grounds was not yet concreted. Most students either cycled or walked to school, only children from affluent families enjoyed the benefits of transport.

The student population was predominantly Chinese although there were also expatriate students from Malaysia and India, and a number of Malay students. Before the present blue and white uniform was introduced years ago, girls wore white blouses and checkered gray skirts while the boys wore white shorts and khaki pants. Teachers were much stricter and occasionally, caned erring students.

Students were highly involved in extracurricular activities. A school clean-up campaign was conducted every week Jumble Sale and Funfares were organized regularly to raised funds for the school.

The appointment of a government-designated local Malay Principal assigned by the Ministry of Education to St. James’s School in 1991 ushered in a new era in the history of St. James. Abdullah b. Othman’s dynamism, foresight and administrative prowess would help shape the school’s destiny and propel it to its present stature. Working closely with the Board of Governors in his first year in office, a new library was built and after its completion the following year, its use was immediately made available to students and teachers. The Principal promoted and encouraged student participation in various state-level academic competitions and projects. These exposures made it possible for St. James’s students to acquire valuable experience and develop their confidence and self-esteem. The Mini Sport for KG and Admission classes was introduced and the inter-house Sports Competition for Primary and Secondary was revived. Sports Day was to become an annual event in the school’s calendar.

A new school building was inevitable. The L-Shaped structure which has been a medium for knowledge for decades had deteriorated considerably and the need for better classrooms more conducive to learning had to be met. A building plan was put forward and was approved by the proper authorities in 1996. Demolition of one section of the old building began, and weeks later, construction started and by mid-1997, one section of the structure had been completed.

Students moved in to the new classrooms months later to make way for the construction of the remaining section. By August 1998, the new St. James’s School building with 17 air-conditioned classrooms, a Science laboratory with modern facilities and a Computer room equipped with the latest hardware and software to prepare the students to meet the demands of the Information Technology Age, had fully completed.

Today, the distinctively modern St. James’s School, a monument vision, of courage and teamwork, and a dream come true for many, stand mighty and tall ready to serve its purpose in St. James’s quest for excellence in the field of education.