To be Rafflesian is to be a part of an institution inextricably linked with the Singapore story. We were founded in June 1823 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Briton who galvanised our nation’s emergence as a major trading centre. RI is also the birthplace of Singapore's National Museum and the National Library Board.

Progressive since the beginning, we welcomed girls in 1844 and began offering pre-university classes in 1886. In 1879, the girls’ wing was established as our sister school, RGS (Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary)).

RJC (Raffles Junior College) was established in 1982 to take over RI’s pre-university enrolment. In 2009, RI and RJC re-integrated to offer a six-year programme together with RGS.

Our campus was originally located along Bras Basah Road. Unfortunately, the school had to move 149 years later as the building fell into disrepair.

‘We could say that there is a history in every brick, a familiarity with every nook and corner and a benevolent air all over the place,’ said then-Headmaster Mr Philip Liau. 'Our regret must be one that what we have known and loved for so long will soon be committed to the misty pages of history, leaving behind only a memory. To old boys who have spent most of their waking hours engaged in the many extra-curricular activities on the premises, the loss will be irreplaceable.’

We moved to Grange Road in 1972, and then to our current Bishan campus in 1990. However, the legacy of our first home in Bras Basah lives on as an illustration on the back of the Singapore two-dollar bill, and in the name of the complex that now stands on the former site - Raffles City.

You can find out more about RI’s history on the Raffles Archives & Museum website, and in The Eagle Breeds a Gryphon, a book by our former Headmaster (and history teacher) Mr Eugene Wijeysingha. Email us if you’d like a copy.