One of the oldest schools in the area was the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS), founded in 1899 by Dr Lim Boon Keng, lawyer Song Ong Siang and scholar Khoo Seok Wan to provide Chinese girls with modern education. This was considered a radical idea within the Chinese community as education was regarded to be unnecessary for girls at that time. SCGS was originally located at Hill Street before it moved to a new two-storey building at the site of Claregrove, Dr Lim’s former home at Emerald Hill, in 1926.
After World War II, SCGS was opened to students of all races. In 1994, the school relocated to its new premises at Dunearn Road. The former school building at Emerald Hill was declared a historic site by the National Heritage Board in 1997 and it currently houses Chatsworth International School.
