In colonial Singapore, the use of English was widely promoted as it was the administrative language used by the colonial government. At the time, the government mainly provided subsidies to schools that taught English, in order to help raise the English standards of students who did not come from English speaking families. As a result, English schools appeared in the mid and late 19th century. 

There were two types of English schools at the time. First were the  “free” schools, which later became government schools. Among these was the Singapore Free School established in 1834, which is now known as Raffles Institution. 

Second were the grant-in-aid private schools. These schools were usually affiliated with Christian missionary organisations and were typically divided into boys’ and girls’ schools. 

In 1987, as all schools in Singapore had to adopt English as the teaching medium, the distinction between English and Chinese schools gradually disappeared.