to Chinese dialect groups amongst the overseas Chinese. Six years later, the school moved to its Bukit Timah campus. After its founding, the school offered comprehensive secondary level Chinese education. It remained funded and supported by Tan Kah Kee until shortly before World War II. In 1934, Lee Kong Chian, Tan Kah Kee's son-in-law, became the chairman of the school's board and remained in his post until 1955. During his tenure, the school faced the threat of closure several times due to financial difficulties, but managed to survive due to strong financial support from Lee and Tan. Together, they built a legacy which is currently commemorated by the school body through songs, plays, musical performances, and a heritage trail. During the Battle of Singapore, the school's clock tower, due to its height and vantage point, served as a headquarters for the Allied defenders. Following the war, the school resumed its predominant Chinese education. In the 1950s and 1960s, during periods of civil unrest in Singapore, many students, teachers and alumni participated in or led the anti-colonial riots. After Singapore gained independence in 1965, the school came under the purview of the Ministry of Education and was accorded the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) status in 1979. Later, in 1988, the school achieved the status of an independent school. This scheme was perceived by the ministry as successful, and was thus extended to other well-performing schools in Singapore. On 19 March 1999, the school's clock tower was gazetted as a national monument. Hwa Chong Junior College (1974–2004) In the late 1960s, Singapore's education system for secondary schools was in the form of a four-year programme followed by a two-year programme for pre-university education. The Chinese High School's board of directors decided to construct a junior college immediately adjacent to the school. This junior college was the second to be built in Singapore, and the first government-aided one. Hwa Chong Junior College began lessons in 1974 under the same administration as The Chinese High School. The name "Hwa Chong" ("Hua Zhong") is an abbreviation of The Chinese High School's Chinese name, "Hua Qiao Zhong Xue", to mark the relationship between the two schools. During its initial thirteen years, Hwa Chong Junior College gradually developed into a top junior college in Singapore, with the school frequently producing high-scoring students in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations. Hwa Chong Junior College moved out of its