SINGAPORE – From 2028, the all-boys Montfort Junior School (MJS) will open its doors to accept girls.
The first cohort of girls will be eligible to apply during the 2027 Primary 1 registration exercise.
The school leadership informed parents and alumni of this development during a townhall meeting held at the school in Hougang on March 4.
The plan is for the secondary school section – Montfort Secondary School (MSS) – to also become co-educational by 2034 or earlier.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on March 5 that it has been informed of St Gabriel’s Foundation’s plans for MJS and is discussing the details of implementation.
The foundation oversees six schools including the Montfort institutions.
MJS, in response to queries, confirmed it has informed MOE on its plans to turn co-ed.
“We are in discussion with MOE on the implementation details and have been engaging stakeholders on this,” it said.
MOE and the school said more details will be available when ready. Both did not respond to queries on intake numbers or the reasons behind this transition.
The Montfort schools join the list of single-sex schools in Singapore that have opened their doors to both sexes.
Canossa Convent Primary became co-ed in 2019, while the primary section of Maris Stella High School is set to admit girls from 2027. Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) announced in 2023 that it will turn co-ed when it relocates to Tengah in 2030.
Both MJS and MSS are government-aided Catholic all-boys schools in Hougang. The junior school has about 150 to 280 Primary 1 places annually.
MJS was established as Holy Innocents’ English School in 1916 and renamed Montfort School in 1959.
In 1961, the school opened its doors to female students in its pre-university classes, and the last batch of them graduated in 1975.
In 1974, Montfort School split to become MJS and MSS before moving to their current premises in Hougang Avenue 8.
Discussions about going co-ed had started in 2019, according to Mr Dennis Ho, a member of the MSS management committee who spoke at the townhall. The St Gabriel’s Foundation had convened a committee to explore how its schools could better integrate and align with evolving educational needs, he said.
Audience members asked how the school plans to help the boys with the transition, whether teaching methods will change and if teachers are prepared.
Other questions they raised were about how discipline standards will be affected, how infrastructure like uniforms and toilets will change and how the school will manage alumni concerns.
In response, the school leadership said there will be stronger pastoral support and checkpoints, pedagogy adjustments and infrastructure upgrades, among other reassurances to parents and alumni.
Mr Mark Tay, chairman of the MSS management committee, said at the townhall that going co-ed will better reflect diversity at the workplaces and universities.
In a co-ed environment, students would develop the emotional intelligence, communication skills and mutual respect necessary for a diverse society, he said.
The change would allow students to “learn to see beyond their own experiences”, he added.
Mr Tay said the school is committed to discipline and high standards, even in this shift, and will ensure classrooms remained focused, respectful and safe for all students.
Parents who attended the townhall said they were not surprised by the announcement.
One parent of an upper secondary boy, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was expecting the change, given the trend of other schools becoming co-ed and the dwindling total fertility rate.
The parent said the all-boys environment, however, was a key reason for choosing Montfort for his son.
“My expectation of an all-boys school and its boy-centric education with exposure to ruggedness was something I hoped for my son to experience, as I did in my schooling years,” he said, adding that he hopes in this transition the school keeps its history and some of its key programmes like Montfort’s sports excellence programme.
Alumnus Ross Gomes, 29, who heard about the news on March 5 through friends, said the decision was “inevitable.”
Mr Gomes, who spent 10 years at Montfort and now works in sales operations for a cybersecurity firm, added: “It is a natural step forward to make the school more inclusive and collaborative.”
While he supports the move, Mr Gomes spoke fondly of the “brotherhood” that defined his decade at Montfort, where he spent much of his time playing softball.
“I have very good memories of growing up in an all-boys school,” he said. “That camaraderie and brotherhood at that stage of life is important; I’m still close friends with many of my schoolmates today.”
“Some traditions might change,” he added. “But while I’d be happy if it stayed all-boys, I don’t see any real issues with going co-ed.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.