Hutchings, the priest who defined education in Penang
GEORGE TOWN: One priest changed the education system in Penang when he petitioned to open a school that was free for all.
The school, named Penang Free School, opened on Oct 21, 1816, and took in students from all walks of life regardless of race, religion and social standing.
The first English-medium school in Southeast Asia had its humble beginnings in a building in Love Lane with 25 male students.
Two-hundred years later, the school has expanded and now sits on a 8ha site in Green Lane, and thousands of students had passed through its hallowed halls.
Reverend Robert Sparke Hutchings died at age 45 in 1827, just 11 years after opening the school, but his legacy lives on.
In honour of Hutchings’ contributions, some 130 people gathered for a memorial service at his final resting place at the Protestant Cemetery in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah here yesterday.
They included PFS students, alumni and teachers, SMK Hutchings representatives, as well as local and Singapore nationals, who took turns laying wreaths on his marble tombstone with its epitaph that read “Founder of Penang Free School 21 October 1816”.
The service was conducted by Bishop Charles Samuel and assisted by Reverend Ho Kong Eng, who is also an alumni of the school.
Alumni Ho Chu Hor, 38, said the commemoration was held annually in conjunction with the school’s anniversary. However, it was grander this year as it was the institution’s 200th anniversary.
from St George’s Church (wearing red sash) leading a memorial service at the grave of the late
Hutchings at the Protestant Cemetery in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah yesterday. Pic by Mikail Ong
Ho said visiting and laying wreaths at Hutchings’ grave was to honour the man who had improved education in Penang.
“Interestingly, Hutchings was also a Malay scholar, who compiled and wrote what were considered
one of the first books on Malay grammar, in addition to severaltextbooks and a dictionary.”
He said PFS students and alumni were proud of the school’s rich history, which set the bar for other schools.