Sunday Mail, September 21, 2003
Anglo Chinese School, Ipoh, Perak

THE Anglo Chinese School (ACS), also known as the Methodist School, in Ipoh, has been a premier educational institution for more than 107 years. The school has grown from a small attap-roofed Malay house to one of the top schools in the country.

THE Anglo Chinese School (ACS), also known as the Methodist School, in Ipoh, has been a premier educational institution for more than 107 years. The school has grown from a small attap-roofed Malay house to one of the top schools in the country.

It was founded by William E. Horley on August 5, 1895, in a small house adjoining the police barracks behind the old land office, which was later demolished to make way for a new million-ringgit mosque. The house was rented from the then Dato Panglima Kinta, Yusuf Nasam and Sir George Maxwell.

Due to the increasing number of students, construction of the present main building of the ACS was begun on March 30, 1914. At this time, 729 boys were enrolled with a staff of 21. In 1936, a science Laboratory, a carpentry room, five classrooms, a staff room, store and modern toilets were built. The building was completed in 1938, and was opened by the Sultan of Perak, Sir Alang Iskandar Shah.

However, during the Japanese occupation the school suffered. Japanese planes raided Ipoh for the first time on December 15, 1941. One bomb dropped on Lahat Road in front of the school, while another fell in the school compound between the principal's bungalow and the adjoining mission bungalow.

The mission bungalow was badly damaged. The school was also machine- gunned, resulting in damage to the school clock and the walls. When Ipoh was evacuated on December 23, 1941, there was wholesale looting in the school. During the Japanese occupation, the ACS was used by the Japanese military authorities.

After WWII, the school resumed its activities and lessons carried on as before.

The school's unique heritage includes the bell and the clock, which were installed at the time that the main building was built in 1914.

The clock is worked by gravity. There are two weights enclosed in wooden structures on either side of the arch of the front porch at the entrance of the school.

The clock works when the weights are raised by means of a crank situated near the bell in the bell tower. When the weights are lowered by gravity the chain of gears are set in motion and the clock works. The clock chimes on the hour and the half-hour. This venerable 89-year-old timepiece is even older than the Ipoh Town clock.

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