HISTORY OF CONVENT IN JOHOR BAHRU

In 1925, three nuns and two teachers, Miss Ethel Filders and Miss Winifred Allen, came to Johor Bahru with one thing in mind. That was to open a school for girls. They rented two shop houses along Jalan Ibrahim and named it Convent the Holy Infant Jesus. In the beginning, the sisters had to face many difficulties. The building was too small and there were not enough essential amenities to cater the school’s growing population of students. As time went by, His Royal Highness, the late Sultan Ibrahim and Her Royal Highness Sultanah Rogayah, came to hear of the school. So impressed were they that they gave a piece of land to the nuns to build a proper school. Work on the building commenced immediately. It was finally completed in 1925 and was opened to the public in January 1927. His Royal Highness, the late Sultan enrolled his grandchildren in the school and continued to lend full support to the development of the school.

The school started with 83 students, and later, by 1974, had reached an impressive number of 590 students. Special Malay classes were set up in May 1936 to meet the requirements of the Education Ministry. Boys were not allowed to enter Convent from 1938 onwards. The year 1939 was the first year the school registered students for the senior Cambridge examinations. Following that, the school achieved a great record and obtained 100 percent passes. During Japanese Occupation, the Convent School was requisitioned by the military and the sisters were force to leave. They returned after the war was over and began restoring the school to its original glory. Restoration work was completed in 1948 and in 1951, the sisters decided to stay permanently and the school became an independent unit

In 1960, the building of the secondary school was completed. This consisted of science  laboratory, art and needlework classroom. In order to cope with the increasing number of students, 6 classrooms, a staffroom, a general office and a Principal’s office were built in 1966. Over the next 18 years, the nun’s role in the administration of our school lessened. This happened in almost all the missionary schools in the country. After successfully completing their mission, the sister left. When Sisters Hyacinth, the last sister in active service left, the sisters donated their living quarters which were converted into classrooms and art room in 1993.

For more than 80 decades, teachers in Convent have educated and shaped young girls life. Let us hope that Convent School will continue to be one of the leading girls schools!