Bukit Mertajam High School (; abbreviated SMKTBM or HSBM; also known as High School Bukit Mertajam) is a secondary school located in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia.
Name
The name of the school has changed several times, from the Government English School Bukit Mertajam in early years, to Bukit Mertajam High School, and finally to High School Bukit Mertajam. The School, however is most commonly called "High School" by local people.
In Malay, BM High School is named Sekolah Tinggi Bukit Mertajam, and in 1997 was referred to as S.M.K.T.B.M. (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Bukit Mertajam).
In Mandarin, High School Bukit Mertajam is called Da Shan Jiao Ying Wen Zhong Xue, which translates to "Bukit Mertajam English Secondary School".
History
Early years
Bukit Mertajam High School was the first government school in Province Wellesley. The school officially opened on January 18, 1927 with an enrollment of roughly 300 students. During the 1920s, students crossed the channel twice daily in order to attend school at Penang island to study beyond Standard 5. Among the schools in the island at that time were the Penang Free School and St. Xavier's Institution.
Harold Ambrose Robinson Cheeseman — then Inspector of Schools Penang, later Director of Education in Malaya— was very outset, Mr. Stowell sought to create a replica of the Sedbergh English Public School, which he had attended and which is known for its stringent discipline.
Cheeseman wrote the following on the occasion of the school's 21st anniversary: I was almost heart-broken. The High School is an exact replica of the elementary school building of Rangoon Road in Singapore. I protested in vain...
The pioneer staff included the following people:
The main wooden block was constructed in 1926, directly facing the Bukit Mertajam Hill that stands sentinel over Bukit Mertajam. The school hall came into being in 1929.
Cutting and leveling out the slope in front of the school for a playing field went on for several years until Mr. C.E.H. Jacobs came into office in 1931. He persuaded the Public Works Department to plant capalogium over the surface, cut the creepers when they had grown to two or three feet high, and plough them back into the clay. The field was then left for months for the vegetation to rot and help break up as well as fertilize the soil. The operation took about a year, and now the ground was ready for grass to be planted. The field was titled "Jacob's Green" after C.E.H. Jacobs's particular care in the state of the field. Jacobs's Green Society came into being two years later with the object of improving and beautifying not only the field but also the grounds in general.
Second World War
The following was written in captivity in Changi Prison, May 1942, by J.E. Tod, headmaster from 1947 to 1950:
Towards the end of 1941, the school was occupied by the Australian Army and the school was removed to the rice mill behind the Bukit Mertajam District Hospital. By December 13, the Japanese were bombing Penang. Every day the students could see ten or twenty Japanese Zero Japanese Zero plane flying over Bukit Mertajam on their mission to bomb Penang Island.
One bomb fell on the Bukit Mertajam railway station, causing an explosion. The students immediately went under their desk for cover. After half an hour, Rev. Colin King held an assembly and told the boys that the school was going to have a long holiday. The boys were very happy, not knowing that the holiday would last for more than three years and many of their class and school mates would be killed in World War II. In September 1945 the Japanese surrendered, the high school re-opened and registered the boys who wished to study again. Mr. Cheong Hong Oon was the acting Headmaster before Mr. D.K. Swan arrived in 1946, and he wrote the following of the events post-war:
All the boys who were keen to pick up the broken threads of their education again were enrolled, irrespective of their age. The High School spirit had revived and the school flourished again...
After the war
On May 28, 1951, Penang Harbour Board presented Bukit Mertajam High School the School Bell. It was first rung by the Honourable, The Resident Commissioner, Mr. A. Caston who officially opened the Science Block.
On May 15, 1952, His Excellency the High Commissioner to Malaya, Sir Gerald Temper, visited High School accompanied by Mr. Aitken, the District Officer. The headmaster, Mr. F.H. Jones took him around the school.