Message from Mr. Ng Kim Huat - Ex Principal (1989-2000)

Mr. Ng is another charismatic principal of St Paul's from 89 to Year 2000. He was instrumental to improve the facilities of the school. During his tenure, he had created lots of projects to upgrade the school and St Paul's is much thankful to his sincere effort towards the well being of the institution especially it's "hard ware".

Following will be Mr Ng's message to all St Paulians.

".....There was much emphasis on the discipline and character building of students during the period when I was heading the school. Teachers were committed to motivating students and helping students realize their full potential. Academic programmes were designed to help all students, the GALUS group (weaker students but likely to pass exams) and the high achievers were given special attention. The school also excelled in co curricular activities although training at the time focused mainly on games and sports which the students were good at.

Realising the importance of parental involvement in the schooling of their children , the Parent-teacher Association was survived after years if inactivity. Prize giving days were held and parents were called to school twice to sign their children's report cards, providing opportunities for communication between teachers and parents. Examination results began to show improvement.

As the school grew and student population increased over time ,more sports and leisure activities were needed for P.E. and recreation as well as for developing the talents of students in Physical activities. The vacant land at the back of the school which was partially water logged was cleared and filled with earth to become the school field (1990-1991).basketball (1992) and Tennis Court were also built (1994) , the former with help both technical and financial ,from the basketball association as well as generous individuals who donated various construction materials. The road from the front entrance right up to the office block was overlaid with gravel (1992) while the iron gate and wall (1993) was erected with help from the Lions Club of Beaufort. Fencing around the entire school compound (1994) was put up using allocation from the State Education Dept.

Since the school was located in a low lying area with low hills bordering its back, drains filled up quickly whenever there was a heavy downpour or when the Padas River over flowed its bank. Under such circumstances, a 'flood mitigation system' was urgently needed to effectively control the flow of water and save the school from endless rounds of flooding and mud clearing not to mention the damage to school properties. Eventually, a system consisting of an electric pumps and a small metal door which could be opened and shut as and when desired was installed across a section of the drain just outside the school(once closed ,the door cut off water coming in from the drain outside while water from the drain inside was being pumped out). The overall cost was around RM10,000. Later on,an additional pump was donated by a parent . It was the most ambitious of all school projects thsu so far and it was therefore a great relief when the next flood hit the town and St Paul's flood prevention system lived up to expectations and performed superly. I heard it is still serving the school well , keeping it dry while some other parts of the town are under water.

I extent my deepest appreciation and thanks to all the teachers and support staff , the school Board, parents and students with whom I had the opportunity to work with for more then ten years. It was good team work that made things happened."

Mr. Ng Kim Huat
Principal (1989-2000)
Source : The Leaven Special Edition
(1958 - 2008)

History Of St Paul's School

 HISTORY OF ST PAUL'S SCHOOL

How it began..............

1st day of St Paul's School declared by Lady Goode 

In its' early years, St Paul's School saw massive and significant changes. Within a decade , a piece of vacant land was transformed into an education institution with buildings and facilities that were modern for that era.

Though the 10th year marks the end of its first decade, the history of the school dates back as far as pre-war years. In fact the beginning of the school was actually associated with the coming of the Anglican Mission to Beaufort Town in 1939.

Fr. Collier ,the then Rector as well as Principal of All Saints’ School, Jesselton through some Beaufort students took great interest in a small private school in Beaufort which was then being run by an Anglican Parish, Mr. Chin Ah Fook.

When Mr. Chin retired, he handed the school tp Fr. Collier and from then on, the school was then known as All Saints Branch School. The School was then situated on a site near the then tennis court of Beaufort Club. However, later when the Chinese self supporting church in Beaufort came into communion with the church of England, the school moved into the church with Mr. Kok Yu Kong and Mr. Leong Fun Yin running a bilingual school in English and Chinese simultaneously.

After the war, the English section of the school came under the care of Kung Ming Chinese School.

St Paul's Primary School in the 60s

However, in 1954 when Kung Ming School found the task of running the school unmanageable, Mr. Kok Yu Kong and Stanley Ho took over the separated English section and thus then the first seed of St Paul’s School was planted. Mr. Kok and Mr. Stanley Ho can said to be the co founders of the school.

It was however, not until 1955 that the school had its own building. On the 5th of January that year, the present primary school building , a chapel and a teachers’ quarters were completed. The student number was then only 96 with Mr. Kok Hon Siong as Principal. Mr. Kok Hon Siong’s years as principal were significant. It was under him that the secondary school was started in 1958.

in January on the following year. 1960, however was a hallmark in the history of the school for it was then that the school presented its first batcIn 1959, Rev. Fr. Tudball became the priest in charge and the principal of the school. Under his principalship the school expanded very rapidly and by the end of 1959, and additional block of classroom was constructed. Fr. A Tudball left at the end of 1960 and his place was taken over by Miss Owen Parker whose term of office was rather short for she left the school h of candidates for the Sabah Junior Certificate Exam.

On January 1961, Mr. Norman Bisset took over as the principal of the school. It was through him the school received numerous gifts of Science equipments from Australia under the Colombo plan. Regrettably, Mr. Bisset did not stay long for he left the school at the end of 1961.

St Paul's Secondary School in the early 70s

The following principal ,Mr. Thien Thau Kiong came at the end of 1962. Under him, the expansion of the school took a significant change ,for it was him who spearheaded the construction of the present secondary school building. 20th January 1963 was a historical occasion for the school as the State Director of Education , the Hon Mr. G.D. Muir laid the foundation stone and the parent building of the secondary school found its home and it is here that the school celebrated the end of the first decade. It was also noteworthy to mention that the school hostel was also completed at this period.

Mr. Thien left the school in August 1963 and his place was momentarily taken over by Rev. Fr. James Pun who served for about a term before retiring at the end of the same year.

In January 1964, Mr. Noel Chin became the principal of the school. The student number was 290 then. Under him, the expansion of the school was further accelerated. By the end of the same year, work on a new Science Block costing RM43,00.00 began and it was completed in the following year.

Mr. Noel Chin

The Science Block was officially declared opened on the 25th June 1966 by the Hon. En. Mohd Dun B Banir. Thus, at the end of 1966, the school was able to present its first batch of Science candidates in Physics and Chemistry for the School Certificate Examinations. The end of 1965 also saw the completion of the school library to cater for the increased number of students which then stood at 475.

1966-1967 saw the further expansion of the school. A new block of 4 classrooms was built adjacent to the ‘old block’ In 1967, St Paul’s was officially divided into primary and secondary school, with the primary school occupying the old building built in 1950s. Mr. Chong Cheng Cheong became the headmaster of the primary school.

By 1968, an additional two classes were completed below the new block as the students number has increased to 600. It was also a sad year for the school as the then and charismatic principal, Mr. Noel Chin whom had devoted so much for St Paul’s left to take up a new appointment as the new principal for All Saints School in Kota Kinabalu.

Father Hurford

His place was taken over by Rev.Fr.Collin Hurford. Under Fr. Hurford a badminton court was built and works on the school ‘padang’ began. The padang was built on a reclaimed swamp costed the school RM20,000.00. In addition, to this, a new Home Science Room was constructed under his tenure.

Fr. Collin Hurford left the school in September 1971, and was replaced by Mr. Goh Chit Yong. Under his principalship, the school had achieved high standards in the fields of both education and sports. Both areas could be witnessed by the number of successes in public examinations and the sports.

1973 can be considered as a year of achievement for the school. As a result, of the high performance of 96% passes in JCE of 1972, the school was able to start off with two Form Four classes and for the first time the school was able to have separate Form 4 Science and Arts classes. Apart from academic successes, the school also shone brightly in the field of sports. For the first time in history , the school captured the championship of the District Inter-School Sports, thus breaking the monopoly of the rival school, St John’s School. This was not to mention the successes in other games particularly basketball and table tennis where the school consistently uphold the top place.

Mr. Goh Chit Yong

While the school experienced high benchmark in its achievements, it encountered a fair share of problems and failures too. The problem of staffing, the low passes of SCE results, the inadequacy of sports facilities and others continue to be viewed as utmost concern by the school. However, in the spirit of the school motto “ Strive That Ye May Obtain” , it had continue to strive to seek answers to the problems.

St Paul’s has emerged a long way towards becoming one of the biggest schools in the State today. It will continue to progress in the years to come.The school will undoubtedly keep in mind those who have contributed one way or another into making St Paul’s of what it is today.

The Present St Paul's Secondary School

The frontage of the school - 2007

Noel Chin - Instrumental for St Paul's School success

Happenings in St Paul's School - 1966

Mr Noel Chin, the former Principal of St Paul's School, Beaufort earlier succeeded Mr.Canon E.C.M. Rusted ,who was the then Principal of All Saints School ,Kota Kinabalu for 18 years.

At that particular moment, Mr. Chin was posted as the new Principal at All Saints School and he reported on duty at the beginning of the 3rd term, August 26th.

Mr Noel Chin, the third son of Canon and Mrs Chin Phu Yin had his primary education in Brunei and secondary education at St. Thomas School in Kuching. He completed his Form Six in 1956 and was awarded a Colombo Plan Scholarship for higher studies in New Zealand, taking a B.A. degree in history at the University of Otago in 1960. He was also trained as a teacher at Dunedin Teachers' College , New Zealand.

Upon returning to Sabah, he worked as a teacher at All Saints' School ,Kota Kinabalu from 1961 to 1963. In 1964, he was appointed as Principal of St Paul's School, Beaufort but for a short span of four years. He left St Paul's at the end of the second term in 1968.

He married Ms Lily Lai, the elder daughter of Dato and Datin Lai En Kong of Kota Kinabalu in 1963.

During Mr. Chin tenure as the Principal, the school began to flourish. The shooting expansion of the school was witnessed by the rapid increase of students and number of new buildings that were built to cater different purposes. St Paul's school had 290 students then but today,it has around a thousand students. Teaching staff had also grown to a figure of 22 then.During his tenure, more then RM100,000 worth of new buildings were duly erected.

A new staff house, a library, a staff room and a principal office were completed in 1966. A new block of four rooms was built during 1966/1967. That year, additional of two more classrooms were completed and two new staff houses were to be built.

Many new subjects have been added to the school curriculum i.e. History and Literature in 1964 and Malay in 1965.

For School Certificates Classes, Additional Mathematics was also offered as a subject from 1965. Biology was introduced in 1966. The school currently offered all the major Science subjects. St Paul's offered most of the subjects as available by other prominent schools. Domestic or Home Science was later introduced at a later stage by jointly held with neighbouring St.John's Secondary School. A domestic Science teacher was recruited from P.Malaysia.

Prior to Mr. Chin's departure, the students from different classes were very busy preparing parties for him. The students felt sad to lose him as the Principal of St Paul's. On his last day, the prefect organised a programme to bid farewell to him and express their thanks for the effort he had extended to the school.


In the farewell party, they sung a song called "Missing You, Sir" to express their sadness over his departure.

Rev Colin Hurford took over from Mr. Chin as acting Principal upon his departure to Kota Kinabalu in 1968.






(<- This photo was taken after a farewell dinner organised by Form Five students together with Mr & Mrs Noel Chin and other teachers)

The Principals of SM St Pauls, Beaufort,Sabah

1. JAN 1958 - OCT 1959 .............................MR. KOK HON SIONG
2. OCT 1959 - NOV 1960 ............................MR. REV A TUDBALL
3. NOV 1960 - JAN 1961 .............................MS OLWEN PARKER
4. JAN 1961 - DEC 1961 .............................MR NORMAN BISSETT
5. JAN 1962 - JUL 1963 ..............................MR THIEN THAU KIONG
6. AUG 1963 - DEC 1963 ...........................REV JAMES PUN
7. JAN 1964 - AUG 1968 ............................MR NOEL CHIN
8. AUG 1968 - OCT 1969 ...........................REV COLIN HURFORD
9. OCT 1969 - APR 1989 ............................MR GOH CHIT YONG
10. APR 1989 - JAN 2000 ...........................MR NG KIM HUAT
11. JAN 2000 - APR 2008 ...........................MR SEAH SOO LIN
12. APR 2008 - 2010......... ..........................MS TAN BOON KYEE
13. 2010 -  PRESENT  ................................ EN. BENEDICT PAULUS

Message from Mr. Noel Chin

A warm message from an ex- principal from Australia

Congratulations to St Paul's School, Beaufort on their 50th Celebration. It's a regret for not able to return to Beaufort as I now live and work in Australia.However, I want to extent my very warm greeting and best wishes to all St Paulians for this occasion.

I left St Paul's School to take up Principalship of All Saints in Kota Kinabalu on the 26th August 1968. So, its forty years now since I last had my official contact with the school and would be a total stranger to the present generation of students and staff. But I hope you have continued to excel in everything you do and be proud now and in the years to come of your association with the institution that has helped to prepare generations of students for life in the real world.

Reverand Noel Chin
Principal - Jan 1964 to Aug 1968

Message from Mr.Goh Chit Yong - Ex-Principal

After completing my teaching training course at Northcote College Of Education, Hong Kong in July 1964, I returned to Sabah. Had it not been for the kindness of the Director of Education,Sabah, Mr. G.D. Muir, I would not come back to Beaufort to render my service. I was posted to St Paul's School as a supernumerary staff. On 26th Aug 1964, I reported duty to the principal, Mr. Noel Chin. I taught arithmetics, geography, history and P.E. in primary five classes. At the same time, temporary arrangement was assigned for me to teach geography at the secondary school. Though I have to cycle for a distance of about 1/2 km from the primary school to the secondary school to teach, I enjoyed my work. Sometimes I walked to the secondary school when it was raining.

By Aug 1965, I left for further study at Chung Chi College, the Chinese university of Hong Kong. After obtaining my B.Sci degree, I rejoined St Paul's Secondary School on 22nd Sept 1966. From 1966 to 1969, I taught geography, history,PE and agriculture science. In 1968, I was appointed as the Sports Master and also joined the school basketball team which won the Beaufort basketball Open Championship in the Min Thien Cup Tournament organised by the Beaufort Basketball Association.

By Aug 1968, our principal ,Mr. Noel Chin was transferred to All Saints School as the new principal. Rev C.O.Hurford was appointed as the new principal.

By Sept 1970, Rev Hurford left on grounds of health, earlier then anticipated. Archdeacon A.Briggs, Manager of Anglican Schools and Vicar-General made the temporary arrangement by appointing Mr.Noel Chin to act as the Supervisor of the school while I acted for the principal until the appointment of a new principal.

Lacking administration experiences, I was in a dilemma to accept the challenge. After careful considerations, I decided to accept the offer. I have a special debt to Mr.Noel Chin for all the advices, encouragement and confidence he gave to enable me to run the school without much difficulties. On 5th Nov.1970, I was appointed as the principal of St Paul's Secondary School by the Director of Education., Sabah, effective from 21st Sept 1970.

Being a new and inexperienced principal, I was facing problems to finance, staff and school development. In finance,the school account was in deficit. It urgently needed to obtain sufficient funds for the general expenditures of the school. With the kind assistance of Archdeacon A Briggs, a loan of RM15,000 was obtained. The school had to pay back the loan in the next five years.By 1975, the loan was fully settled. it was a relief to me as my burden was lightened.

In staff, in the early 1970s, the school was very much dependent on expatriate teachers from India and Burma. They were Mr. Thomas Varghese, Mdm Mary Varghese, Mr. PS Bell, Miss Janie Bell and Ms Leela Nair. Later, the recruitment of expatriate teachers came to a complete stop. We had to rely on teachers from Peninsular Malaysia. Most of these teachers served for a period of 2-3 years. Then they left for good as they were employed by the education Dept. as temporary teachers without salary increments after 2 years. They were Mr.Wan Sham Wan Ismail, Mr. Abd Rahim Deros, Mr. Leow Guan Hing, Ms Doreen Eng, Mr. Voon Lun Chong, Ms Francisaca Ng, Mr Liew Kai Sun, Mr. Lim Kar Keng, Ms Theresa Liew Yuet Fun, Mr. Yew Choo Khan, Mr. Dhana Palan, Mrs Ritchie ,Ms Liew Phet Hiong, Ms Chuah Kooi Kheng, Mr.Ng Teng Huat, Mr. Tan San Chor, Ms Noriah Hamzah, Ms Chong Kim Thye, Ms Goh Siew Giok, Mr Soo Kok Weng and other.

In addition to depending on local teachers such as Mr. Voo tet Chung, Mr Lo Shiau Khi, Mdm Ho Luke Chi, Mr Peter Chin, Ms Angela Leong, Mr Goh Ang Hui, Ms Chin Ee Jan, Mr Hiew Tien Choi, Mr Chong Ah Yin, Ms Tay Jy Lee and Mr Chang Chung Ling, the school took measures to secure the services of our students who had completed and passed the senior cambridge examination and Malaysian Cert exam. Most of them worked for a short period of time. They were Ms Doris Pang, Ms Connie Ng Moi ,Ms Annie Liew, Mr. Roland Liew Thau Yun, Mr. Shamsul Ngathiu Tamsir, Mr Allan Mathews, Ms Lucy Phung Yun Ching, Mr Mohd Shafie Matzain, Mr Bali Yusuf, Ms Ella Chong, Mr Chin Chee Kee and Ms Foo Ngai Mee. Some of them left for further studies at the local and overseas higher institutions. Some of them were engaged with the local firms in Kota Kinabalu.

Running a school was a very heavy task, I was fortunate enough to have the full support from the Diocese of Sabah, The School Board as well as the dedicated and helpful staff who made my work easier and lighter. I was greatly indebted to them for their kind support, co-operation and assistance whenever they were needed.

On 8th April 1989, I received a letter from the Director of Education Sabah,, informing me that Mr.Ng Kim Huat from SMK Bongawan would take over St Paul's Secondary School as the new principal. I became his senior assistant until my retirement on 20th April 1995.

GOH CHIT YONG
PRINCIPAL
1970-1989
Source : The Leaven Special Edition
(1958 - 2008)

Birth Of St Paul's School in Beaufort, Sabah

The beginning of St Paul's Primary and Secondary School is closely associated with the establishment of the Anglican Church in Beaufort. St Paul's Church was born on Jan 5th 1941. The then visiting priest from Jesselton (KK) was Rev Collier who was arrested by the Japanese Military Govt in May 1942 when the Japanese occupied Beaufort.

The Kok Family's association with St Paul's Primary and Secondary School began even before 1941 and has run into generations since then.

It began with the late Rev Canon Kok Yu Kong, a teacher first of All Saints and later of Kung Ming Chinese School in Beaufort prior to 1941.,no church existed in Beaufort except for a small group of Christians meeting in a home for songs and prayers under Rev Kok.

After 2nd world war, there was talk of building a new Church building to replace the old pre-war temporary building. Anglican priests from Jesselton pushed for the plan for a school cum chapel costing about RM13,000. Part of the money was raised ,apart from using the 50pc grant from the education Dept. it was reported that Rev Kok and Mr Stanley Ho (later a MP) started St Paul's primary school.

The site chosen for the building of the primary school cum chapel was a secondary jungle at that time, though it was only about a quarter mile from the township. This was cleared and the levelling of the hilltop was done by hand by some older Christian students from Kung Ming Chinese School under the leadership of Rev Kok.." a Parish worker named Margaret Chong wrote in a commemorative magazine of the Anglican Diocese of Sabah.

According to her ,when the primary school was built in 1954, Rev Kok's cousin, Kok Hon Siong ,a trained teacher was engaged to become the first headmaster of St Paul's Primary School. About 110 students were enrolled in 3 classrooms. Kok resigned at the end of 1959 to go into business, and Rev Tudball became the first Principal of both St Paul's primary and Secondary School in 1960, his place was taken over by Ms parker for a short while. She was succeeded by Rev Bisett in early 1961 but left at the end of 1961, and was replaced by Thien Thau Kiong in early 1962.

Thien who left in Aug 1963 for further studies in Canada ,now resides in Perth.Australia.

Rev Father Pun from the Diocese of Hong Kong took over a s acting Principal for half a year until the appointment of Noel Chin in Jan 1964 until Aug 1968 when he was transferred to All Saints School, KKas Principal. rev Father Colin Hurford, then a teacher of SM St Paul ,became the acting Principal until 1970.

The senior Kok is 74 today and still residing in Beaufort. His son, Vincient Kok studied at the secondary school where he completed Form 5 in 1978. Many years after his return from overseas in 1988, Vincient became the Chairman of the School Management Board of SM St Paul today.

"We (board) have taken over management of the computer lab and invested RM40,000 in a Microsoft lessons programme for Form One students since last year. This year, we have some 130 students in the programme. We have employed one graduate teacher and 2 assistants to conduct the lessons. This is our contribution to St Paul's Secondary School", said Vincient.

Special Report
DAILY EXPRESS
10th Aug 2008

Tribute to Past Chairmen of St Paul's School Board

Past Chairmen play vital role in St Paul's School-Beaufort

As ex-St Paulians walk down the memory lane in the school's 50th anniversary celebration on August 18th,2008 they will recollect the important role played by past chairmen of the school Executive Council.

Reginald R.Lawes, a rubber planter and GM of the Woodford Estates was the Chairman from 1962 to July 1969. He is married to a local Sabahan and one of their children, Nicholas John Lawes (born in Beaufort) is back in Sabah. He took a keen interest in the school affairs and helped the school in many ways. Word had it that he was always generous in his donations to the school and society. He reportedly showed a keen interest in sports development in Beaufort. At one time, he was the only football referee available in the district. Lawes was succeeded by J I Mathews ,also a planter and later the GM of Woodford Estates. he was held in high regard by the Beaufort Community for his philanthropy, his initiative to conduct type writing classes for Kampung folks and his role as Chairman of the Sabata Beaufort Branch.

Interestingly, four of his children studied at St Paul's school - Datuk Harris Matthews (ex-GM of Sabah Rubber Industry Board) Datuk Dr. Allan Matthews (Chief representative of DKSH Holdings (M) Bhd as well as past president of the Rotary Club of Likas Bay and twice President of the Sabah Pharmaceutical Society), Nelson Matthews ,then the school captain in 1969, was a teacher in Lahad Datu, Beaufort and Membakut, and daughter Beatrice Matthews ,an ex staff nurse at Beaufort Hospital (now residing in Brisbane ,Australia). The senior Matthews passed away in 1973.


Special Report
DAILY EXPRESS
10th Aug 2008

CM among prominent leaders produced by St Paul

Not many are aware that SM St Paul has produced some prominent leaders and citizens. In the words of the school's Golden Jubilee Celebration Organising Chairman ,Vincient Kok and Dr. Allen Mathews (both Ex St Paulians), the 1970 Senior Cambridge School Certficate class saw a bright rising star among the students.

He is non other than our current Chief Minister of Sabah.,YAB Datuk Seri Musa Hj Aman. Datuk Seri has continued to show interest in the development of St Paul's school. We have invited him to grace the occasion on August 18th. they said.

A delegation from the organising Commitee and ex-St Paulians led by Kok ,recently paid a courtesy call on Musa to brief him on the event. According to Kok, and Dr. Mathews , Musa has a soft spot for both primary and secondary schools. Through the intercession of the CM, the school managed to build its computer lab ,complete with some 30 computer sets, with financial assistance from the State Government.

On Nov11, 2006 ,the CM declared open the lab ,witnessed by then Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Govt. Dato Hjh Azizah DSP Hj Mohd Dun, Klias Assemblyman Datuk Lajim Ukin, Director of Education Normah Gagoh, then Beaufort District Wong Foo Tin, chairman of the school management Board Vincient Kok ,Board members and ex-students. Despite his busy schedule ,Musa turned up for the 2004 reunion of ex-stpaulians at the residence of Dr.Mathews in KK. Former teacher cum acting principal Father Colin Hurford and wife Margaret

were also present. State minister of community Development & Consumer Affairs ,Dato Hjh Azizah DSP Hj Mohd Dun is an 'old girl' of the school. She completed Form 3 at the school in 1971 before joining Maktab Sabah and later became the State first woman magistrate .

In fact, her father the late Datuk Mohd Dun Banir then an Usno-Lumadan Assemblyman declared open the St Paul's Science Lab in June 25th 1965, according to our records", said Dr.Mathews.

As member of Parliament for Beaufort (2004-2008) now as State Minister, she had rendered assistance to the school within her capacity. I believe in giving incentives in cash or kind such as certificate of merit to academic achievers from the PMR/SPM examinations. I'll continue to do so as much as possible." said Azizah who had donated jerseys and computers ,among other necessities ,to her alma mater.

Currently, Dr. Mathews is spearheading efforts to start an alumni association. "I have accepted the post of Protem Chairman for the benefit of the secondary school" he said.

UiTM professor Rahman Kimsin and Beaufort District Officer Mohd Sidek Hj Abdul Jubar are also 'old boys'. Current Head of the education service sector (State education department), Bali Yusof and retired Head of the school sector Mohd Shafie Matzain completed Form 5 at SM St Paul in 1971.

"Dato Azizah was our schoolmate " recalled Bali, also an ex-teacher of the school. Other ex-students from the earlier batches ,who have carved successful careers for themselves in their working life included : Datuk Stephen Foo (former state attorney general) ,Chok Chin Tian (former Chief executive officer of Sabah Medical centre) ,Datuk Rahid Gador and Foo Fook Ming (veteran politicians), Chin Chee Kee (Chairman of the KK Charitable Foundation & Secretary of the Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry ) Charles Ungas Bodok (Former Sabah Rubber Industry Board Deputy GM) Kamis Awang Ali (former Dep Director (2) of Sabah Foundation), Shaddy Hj Nashah (ex-Asst District Officer) and retired police officers Absul Mali Abbas and Robert Linggi. Chin has made a donation of RM1000 in support of the school's Golden Jubilee celebration.

Special Report
DAILY EXPRESS
10 Aug 2008

Former Acting Principal,congratulates St.Paul's School

In his reminiscences, former teacher and acting Principal, Father Colin Hurford said he arrived in Sabah in Sept 1963. "Just in time to see the last British Governor (Sir William Goode) plummed and all said into the sunset.

The next day , I was at the padang in KK to see the inauguration of Malaysia. Since then, the country has taken enormous strides forward to become a very prosperous nation and I am pleased to say that St Paul's has made a contribution to this. " he said in congratulatory message.

According to father Hurford, St Paul's at that time had a boarding house and six classrooms and students were taking Secondary 3 examinations for the first time. "Mr (now Father) Noel Chin arrived and it was under his inspired leadership that the school was really built up to 5th Form status. The main problem was recruiting teachers but we had an enthusiastic local and expatriate staff who did work very hard despite lack of resources.

Money was another difficulty and I would like to thank parents ,local business people and others who contributed very generously (as no doubt they still do) to the school's development," he recalled.

During his seven years in Sabah (1963-1970), the school grew from 300 students to about 720. He also remembers that the school didn't have a science teacher.

"So, I prayed hard ! Within one week , a young English student-Hugh Kingston -was seen walking down the road asking for St Paul's. He had been sent by the voluntary Service Organisation (VSO) which had forgotten to tell the school he was coming.

St Paul's has invaluable support from the VSO and Peace Corps movements ". In 1966, Father Hurford was the form teacher of the first batch of senior Cambridge school certificate students. As acting Principal in 1969, he made 3 observations- the willingness of both staff and students to take part in various school activities and to help in any way they can. Parents and other members of the community have help the school generously by way of donations , although passing of examination is very important., the most important thing a school can give is training in moral and spiritual values which last, not just for this lifetime,but for eternity.

We do not receive any support from outside the country and rely on the grant of 50 pc from the Govt and the generosity of people who lived in the district for all improvements in Buildings and surroundings". he wrote in the 1969 School Magazine (The Leaven) .

On the Boarding House, Father Hurford said students of all races were living together more or less in peace. " Just a few more memories ...the Boarding House Band played at local functions and for our concerts. The tension of examination results (no doubt, still a problem) generally good for a small town school. The floods and students splashing through water determined not to miss school. His abiding memory of Sabah and St Paul's is the wonderful hospitality and friendship received from staff .students and members of the town, and more recently ,former students.

He and wife Margaret were on a down memory lane trip to Sabah in 2004. We were very impressed when we last saw the school that year and I treasure the gift from the Sabah Chief Minister at our last reunion " he said.

Father Hurford has a few regrets. His main one is that he did not learn Bahasa or Hakka but there never seem to be time. "I very much admired and still so, those who speak at least two, if not three different languages. You put English people to shame." he quipped.

Special Report
DAILY EXPRESS
10th August 2008

St Paul's is 50 and doing well

Founded in 1958, SM St Paul is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this month. A top school in Beaufort, it has consistently performed well in the SPM examnination since 2005.in fact, it is one of the top 10 secondary schools in a rural setting. But, unlike achiever schools in the state capital with better access to the media ,its success story is less publicised, be it academic or co-curricular.

A proud present principal Ms Tan Boon Kyee said the school has notched an overall passing rate in the region of 98pc in the SPM examination for 3 consecutive years.

It is as follows:- 2005-98.7pc, 2006-98.8pc, 2007-98.2pc.

"28 students scored 5As and above last year. Of the figure ,3 scored 9As, 1 8As,3 7As ,9-6As and 11-5As. Lian Sooth Tying emerged as the school's best student. She obtained 12As" She said.

And in the PMR examininations, Tan noted there was a marked improvement from an overall passing percentage of 64.1 in 2006 to 79.7 last year. The school secured 78.1 pc passes in 2005.
Of the 33 scorers (5As and above) in 2007, six had 8As ,13 with 7As ,three 6As and 11 got 5As.

On record, SM St Paul also made a name for itself in its co-curriculum (especially in public speaking and debate) at district and state levels, according to the principal.

This year , we were the Beaufort district champion in the Pesta Pantun. The school which represented Beaufort Zone was declared the first runner up in the state level English Debate Competition held in Kota Belud earlier this year.

Last year, the school won the championship title in badminton and basketball tournaments, and was placed third in athletics, all of these district level.

SM St Paul is a 'double session' school with an enrolment of 850 and staffed by 57 teachers. Classes are up to Form Five with one bridge class.

The other pride of the school is form 4 Science student Cliff Asher R.Ongil who was one of the 2007 PMR top ten students in Sabah. A school prefect and a badminton player. this English debater represented Beaufort Debate Competition. He was selected by MEASAT Satellite Systems & Maxis Communications to be part of the 25 international student group to Russia and the MEASAT-3A Communications Sattelite during the school holidays this month.

Daily Express
10th Aug 2008
Special Report

SEK.MEN. ST PAUL 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

SM St.Paul, Beaufort which was found fifty years ago is celebrating itsGolden Jubilee this year.The humble beginning of the school dated back to pre Second World War era when missionaries from the Anglican Church working with local community leaders such as Mr. Chin Ah Fook, first set up the St.Paul's Primary School in 1939. Despite the ravages of war ,efforts in church expansion and school building continued unabated under Rev.Collier and in 1958, St.Paul's Secondary School began its classes for the first time.

The St Paul School Management Board is organising a series of events this August in commemoration and appreciation of all those who have pioneered the establishment of the school and have toiled selflessly over the years to educate the students, both past and present, to come together for a time of reunion and to raise funds for school building projects. A puppet show entitled 'Outer Space ,Inner Space' will be held on the 2nd August at 7.30 in the evening in the Dewan Masyarakat Pa'Musa ,Beaufort.

It is open to the public and tickets are priced at RM10 for adults and RM3 for students. VIP tickets at RM50 and RM100 are also available. A special reunion dinner will be held on the 9th August at the St.Paul's Secondary School hall premises. A walk down the memory lane besides entertaining performances by the Secondary students and Primary pupils. A variety of anniversary memorabilia

(limited numbers) will be on sale on the same night. A special edition of the School magazine 'The Leaven" is also published for this occasion.

Mr.Vincient Kok, the school board chairman ,calls on the public and all St.Paulians to donate generously and to support the school by being there for both the events. The following can be contacted for further information: St.Paul's Church 087-225513, St.Paul's Secondary School 087-212037 and ticket sale : St.Paul's Church, St Paul's Secondary School and Primary Schools 087-211548. Pemborong Buku Jaya 016-8109930 and Kedai Foto Kami 087-213428

School Management Board - Beaufort