Maxwell School ( ms, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Maxwell) is an all-boys secondary school, located north of

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. The school is believed to be the oldest school in north of

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

as well as one of the oldest in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Both current students and alumnus are known as a Maxwellian. A centennial ceremony, celebrating the school's 100th anniversary since its establishment, was held on 30 September 2017.

History

Maxwell School was established in 1917, and named after a road in honour of Sir William George Maxwell. It opened its doors to 110 students and five teaching staff on 1 June 1922. During its pre-war days, it functioned as a feeder school (primary school) to the

Victoria Institution The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden ...

. By 1933, the school was shut down to the public due to the recession, but was opened as a private school from 1934 to 1938. It was then given to the Trade School for their use. During the Japanese Occupation, it was used as a camp for the Japanese Kempeitai. After the war, the school was used as a hostel by the newly formed Technical College until 1953, when, in September, the school was re-opened as Malaya's first modern secondary school. Today, the Maxwell School is still housed in the same building and has remained a secondary school ever since.

School crest

Mr. Donald Priestley designed the school crest in 1954. It is green, yellow, blue and white, with each colour having a meaning: * green represents religion, * yellow represents royalty, * blue represents age, * white represents youth. The shield shows a tiger, an opened bible, the school motto, a compass which supports the opened book and an arrow pointing down surrounded by eight blue and white stripes. The opened book is the ''Bible Of Knowledge'' and the tiger is The Burning Tiger. The compass symbolises the school's status as a modern secondary school, offering technical and vocational subjects at that period of time. The school motto – ''Disco Ut Serviam'' – is the Latin for ''I Learn That I May Serve''.

Campus

The school has remained on its original site. It originally consisted of two blocks, the present day main block and the gymnasium block, which now is a meeting room. The design and features of the two blocks are typical of colonial era structures and bear some similarities with the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

and Sultan Abdul Samad buildings, both of which have

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (on the Iberian peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). The term "Moorish" com ...

. The school was later extended to a block of solid masonry construction with arched openings along the corridors. There is a veranda on both sides of each storey of the main block, high ceilings and broad stairways. The 'H' shape of the main block is locally a distinctive feature. The school since have expanded, and now the school has two additional main blocks. The first of which are located behind the original 1917 block, housing most of the classrooms and laboratories, and a new 6-storey tower that houses most of the Form Sixth classrooms and the school library.

Student life

Sports

Maxwell School participates in the Sentul zone at district level and in the MSSKL (Kuala Lumpur School Sports Council) tournament at the state level. The school has won trophies and titles in football,

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

sepak takraw Sepak takraw, or Sepaktakraw, also called kick volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court. It is similar to volleyball and ...

and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

. Maxwell School has produced Malaysian sportsmen including

Zainal Abidin Hassan Zainal Abidin Hassan bin Ali (born 9 November 1961) is a Malaysian former footballer and the former head coach of Malaysia Super League side Penang. Playing career A versatile footballer who can playing in multiple positions, Zainal Abidin is ...

, E.C. Dutton (national goalkeeper) S.A. Azman (national tennis player) and national cricket players.

Rivalry

St. John's Institution, is the school's traditional rivals. This rivalry can be observed during visits by Maxwellians to St. John's Institution and vice versa. Setapak High School, Ampang Road Boys School and the Methodist Boys School, Sentul can also be included in this list, stretching back to the mid-1950s.

House

There are four sport houses, and every year they compete on

sports day Sports days (British English) or field days (American English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of winning trophies or prizes. Though they are often h ...

. The Maxwell School Sports Day has been held since 1955. The

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

are named after the founders of the state. The houses are: * Thamboosamy (

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

) * Swettenham (

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

) *

Yap Ah Loy Kapitan China Yap Ah Loy (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Ya̍p Â-lòi'', Jawi: ; 14 March 1837 – 15 April 1885), also known as Yap Tet Loy and Yap Mao Lan, is an important figure of early Kuala Lumpur. He served as the third '' Kapitan China'' of Kual ...

(

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

) * Sulaiman (

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

)

Prefects

Maxwell School has one of the oldest prefects board in

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. It was founded 1929. After the war, the Prefects Board was re-initiated and the first School Captain was S. A. Azman in 1954. He later became one of Malaya's first national tennis players. Choosing prefects is done by nomination for prefecture by teachers and senior students, training, elimination processes, and a several month stint as a 'Temporary Prefect'. The motto for the Maxwell School Prefects Board is "Dedicated Prefects Towards Discipline"

Alumni

The alumni association of the school is the Maxwell School Old Boys' Association. It was established in 1956, de-registered in 1983 and was registered again on 13 February 1999. The OBA has a newsletter known as ''Berita O'Max'', issued quarterly. Notable alumni include: * Syed Hamid Albar, Former Home Minister of Malaysia *

, former national football player * Selvadurai Mahalingam, won the Punjab University Field Hockey championship after 27 years for King Edward Medical College. *

Yaacob Latiff Yaacob bin Abdul Latiff (1 February 1918 – 9 September 1985) was the second Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia since it was officially conferred the status of the city on 16 May 1972. He served for a period of 8 years. On 1 November 1980, he was ...

, second Mayor of Kuala Lumpur

Sources

National Archives of Malaysia The National Archives of Malaysia ( ms, Arkib Negara Malaysia) is a Malaysian archive located in Kuala Lumpur. History The National Archives of Malaysia were established in 1957 as the Public Records Office before changing to their current name ...

* The Burning Tiger (Annual School Magazine) * The Maxwellian (Annual School Magazine) {{coord missing, Malaysia Secondary schools in Malaysia Publicly funded schools in Malaysia Educational institutions established in 1917 1917 establishments in British Malaya Boys' schools in Malaysia