Sejarah
Westlands Secondary School was established ini 1957, the year Malaysia gained her independence. One could say that the school really started from scratch to become what it is today. The privilege of getting brillant students into our school was beyond our widest dream. But with what we received , our school was proudly achieved several milestones with its dedicated and committed teachers through its successes and achievements of its students over its 50 years history.
The school started off with a humble beginning in January 1957 with just seven teachers teaching four classes of Form One drawn from the various primary schools in Penang and two vocational classes from Francis Light School. Its buildings consisted of Block A, Block B and the industrial Arts block.
The initial aim of the school was to serve as a secondary vocational school for boys who were more inclined towards the practical subjects. Boys, who were not admitted into Penang Free School or Georgetown Secondary School were instead sent to Westlands Secondary School. The students obtained Category C in the Malayan Secondary Schools Entrance Examination.
Mr. Hooi Yip Hoong, the headmaster of Westlands Primary school was given the honour to become then first acting principal of Westlands Secondary School.
After his tenue, an Australian, Mr. A. Williams, who served under the Colombo Plan, took over in April 1957 and he held this position for about five months, Mr Ooi Khay Bian succeeded him as the principal from December 1957 until August 1958.
In 1958, the school was used as a centre for ten Further Education Classes (FEC), which operated from 6.00 pm till 9.00 pm, Mondays to Fridays. These classes continued until 1963, after which the FEC were relocated and conducted in Georgetown Secondary School.
However, with the implementation of the Standardized Syllabus during the post - Merdeka period, the school no longer served as a Secondary Vocational School. Instead the standard type of general secondary education was carried out. Mr. Lim Boon Hock took over as the headmaster from September 1958.
The pioneer batch of students sat for the Lower Certificate of Education, currently known as Peperiksaan Menengah Rendah (PMR) for the first time in October 1959. Mr Lim Boon Hock was transferred to Sekolah Menengah Jelutong and Encik Salleh bin Hussain, AMN took over as the principal.
Westlands reached another milestone when the first Form 4 class was started in January 1960. The building of Block C was completed in the same year.
In January 1961, Westlands Secondary School became the pioneer secondary school to introduce education in Malay medium. Seventeen classes were opened to cater for 650 students. This pioneer batch of students sat for the Senior Cambridge Examination in November 1961.
In 1962, the building of Block C which had four classes was complected. For the first time, candidates from this school sat for the FEC examination in the Malay medium. Out of the 21 candidates who sat for the examination, 12 were seccessful.
On 1st October 1962, Captain Hamid Khan, the then Deputy Minister of Education visited the school.
By 1963, the school had 22 classrooms with an enrolment of 840 students including 97 female students transferred in from the Malay medium schools. From then on, Westlands Secondary School became a co-educational school. Due to the lack of classrooms, three classes were in the afternoon session. The S.C. and F.M.C. Examination were taken in the English as well as the Malay medium. It had became in effect a two-medium school. The school stopped being a centre for Further Education Classes.
In 1964, there was a drastic change and the school once again reverted back to be an English medium school for boys only. Female students, who were following the Malay medium syllabus, were transferred to Sekolah Menengah Abdullah Munshi, Jalan P. Ramlee, Pulau Pinang. Female students following the English medium syllabus was transferred to St. Georges Girls' School at the end of 1964. The school then consisted of 18 classes with a total enrolment of 708 students. The 18 classes included three classes of "Remove" from the National schools, Chinese schools and Tamil schools.
Another significant milestone was recorded in the history of the school when the first issue of the school magazine appeared in May 1954. It was a modest publication entitled "MAJU" (Forward or Progress).
In 1972, a new badge was introduced. The Parent-Teacher Association was formed with Tuan Haji Abd. b. Zakaria as the first chairman. The building of the science laboratories was completed in 1974
Westlands Secondary School has come a long way from its humble beginning since its establishment in 1957. Students and teachers come and go each year, but definately Westlands Secondary School will always be there to provide education for our future generations.
(Adopted and adapted from Golden Jublee Celebration Souvenir Book 2007)