Dec 18, 2024, Straits Times: Former Hong Kah Secondary building to make way for expanded special needs school
The site of the former Hong Kah Secondary School in Jurong West will be rebuilt to house the expanded Grace Orchard School, a special education (Sped) school for students aged seven to 18 with autism or mild intellectual disabilities.
Housed at a holding site at the former Clementi Woods Secondary School in West Coast Road since 2021, Grace Orchard School will be able to grow its capacity from 450 students to 600 when it moves by end-2028.
The number of students in Sped schools increased from 5,410 in 2009 to 7,818 in 2023.
This was largely due to an increase in students reported with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD). . . .
Dr Andrew Lim, executive director of Presbyterian Community Services, which oversees Grace Orchard School, told The Straits Times that the old school buildings will be torn down for the new campus.
Additionally, the Ministry of Social and Family Development has approved plans to build a two-storey hub that will be connected to the school.
This hub will provide vocational training for students who have turned 18 and graduated, but need more help preparing for employment.
Dr Lim said the hub’s ground floor will provide services for the community, while its second level will be designed for formal employment training.
It can accommodate 150 older students for such training, and expects to take in both former Grace Orchard School students and those referred by disability agency SG Enable. . . .
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