In the 19th century, Singapore had several private Chinese schools, which mainly adopted traditional Confucian teaching methods and used Chinese dialects as the medium of instruction.

A new style of Chinese school emerged in the early 20th century. These schools were established as a result of the economic ties between Singapore and Malaya, as well as the support of the Qing government between 1905 and 1911. Their teaching style departed from the traditional Confucian model. The first school in Singapore that followed this new system was Chongzheng School (originally named Yangzheng School).

In 1911, Tao Nan School became the first Chinese school to convert its teaching language from dialect to Mandarin.

After the 1950s, the role played by clan associations in Singapore’s Chinese schools’ education was reduced, partly due to the decreasing number of Chinese schools in Singapore.

In 1987, the teaching language for all schools in Singapore was standardised to English. As a result, the differentiation between English and Chinese schools gradually disappeared.