By Betty Ding (25A01B) and Meryl Lim (25S05A)

In 2024, RI underwent a significant reshaping of its CCA landscape, with several CCAs merged and a few others discontinued. For the merged CCAs, you can say it was like a surprise arranged marriage of sorts—arranged, officiated, and enforced by the school with no clear path to a divorce or annulment. 

And like any couple, each pair of merged CCAs will have to find their own way to resolve their differences and get used to their new normal. We sat down with members from Chamber Ensemble, Raffles Image Art Collective (RIAC) and Raffles Crew to find out more about what this looks like, and the stories that unfolded behind the scenes.

Chamber Ensemble

This merger came as no surprise to both Piano and Chamber Ensemble. Simply put, it was:

Having collaborated for Concert Reverie in 2024, the pair already had experience working with each other. Hence, when it came to the possibility of a merger, both Piano and Chamber Ensemble welcomed it with open arms—after the initial shock had worn off.

We met with the chairpersons of Piano Ensemble ‘25 and Chamber Ensemble ‘25— Nicholas Kim (25S06A) and Tan Tze Rui (25S03I) respectively—to find out more.

With greater numbers and even a Year 5 who plays both cello and piano, the merger felt less like a messy collision of two worlds and more like natural harmony. After all, chamber music has always included piano, not just strings and bows. In that sense, Piano Ensemble was never a stranger to Chamber, but rather just waiting for its cue to come in.

Still, according to Nicholas and Tze Rui, the road ahead seems uncertain for the future generations of Chamber EXCO. Having to juggle SYF one year and a joint concert the next is no easy feat, especially since it has never been done before. However, they’re hopeful that for non-SYF years, they’ll have more flexibility in their collaborations.

Along with the spate of CCA mergers, there were a few new policies implemented that invariably affected CCA membership for the new batch such as the one CCA policy and the shift of Student Council meeting timings from Wednesday afternoons to Wednesday mornings. Nicholas explained how the merger benefitted Chamber:

“I was quite happy, because I suspected that we would have issues with [membership] numbers. But we didn’t know the policies yet. Now that we know the policies, in hindsight, it was a very good move.” 

For Chamber, their merger could be described as smooth as a well-rehearsed legato—the nature of both CCAs, session timings and usual routines have remained essentially the same. Sure, there were new faces to get used to, but it was nothing a few more meetings and bonding sessions couldn’t solve. 

If you think about it, it could be argued that the most ideal merger is one that barely feels like one. 

However, for Raffles Image Arts Collective (RIAC) and Raffles Crew, the merged CCAs seem to have more differences to reconcile than similarities. 

Raffles Image Art Collective (RIAC)

No, before you ask, it’s not Raffles Institution Art Club. Acronyms aside, we sat down with the chairpersons of Photographic Society ‘25 and Art Club ‘25, namely Ryan Poh (25S06F) and Zhong Jinxuan (25S06R) to learn more about the merger.

The RIAC merger was justified by logistical issues that were out of their control, and also could be seen as an attempt to emulate how things are run at the Y14 side, where Photographic Society (known more commonly as Photog) and Art have already been merged (you may know them as RPAC). Since both CCAs work with visual media, the merger seemed logical on the surface.

Despite this, it was apparent that the merger came as a huge shock to both Photog and Art Club. It left many scratching their heads, wondering: why these two CCAs? 

Photog can be considered a Service CCA—as seen from their role in capturing official CCA pictures for the school’s yearbook and efforts in covering almost every school event—whereas Art Club is more focused on self-expression and creativity. 

To understand how this newly merged CCA worked, we interviewed Kai Xin (26A01C), a Y5 who shared her experience as a member of the first batch of RIAC. 

Though initially unsure about joining RIAC due to the merger, her interest in photography eventually pushed her to become a member. Since then, the CCA has widened her perspective on photography. Beyond just taking photographs, she thinks that she could incorporate artistic aspects into her pictures to enhance them, and digital design to “make cooler shots”. 

Looking ahead, she hopes to be able to work with her batch to make a mini-magazine that integrates Photog’s “Deck the Walls” initiative (see: the CCA pictures hung up around school!) with Art elements via graphic design. 

From her experience, it can be seen that the merger appears to bring together elements of photography and design to give rise to a completely revamped CCA experience, one that leans more towards photography and digital design specifically.

It’s different, and that just might be the problem.

In the process of creating something new, something else is bound to get lost in the mix. In this case, it’s the “Art” in “Raffles Image Art Collective”.

Jinxuan explains to us that RIAC is “incorporating more artist attitudes into their photography” so it feels like “they took the specialty of artistic photography and refined it into a CCA.” Today, if someone wished to do “traditional” art in RI, the closest and only way to do what Art Club used to do, such as painting and sketching, would be to take H2 Art. 

While it might not sound like much has been lost, let us paint you a picture: the H2 Art cohort usually has fewer than 10 students every year. Those who take H1 Art don’t get the same luxury of hands-on activity as the syllabus only consists of written papers.

The loss of Art Club completely shuts off any avenues for students to pursue art as a casual hobby or develop their passions, and as aptly summed up by Jinxuan:

“There just isn’t really a way for people to actually do traditional art in the school anymore.”

Even though Ryan and Jinxuan expressed understanding towards why the merger happened, you can’t help but feel that the omission of traditional art as a CCA is somewhat disappointing—in fact, that would be a huge understatement. 

It’s a pity, but change is change, and it’s heartening to see the Chairs take it in their stride. 

When asked how they feel about being the founders of RIAC, Ryan suggested an alternative: he instead views his batch as the “sun-setting members of the closing down CCA”. 

“As we start to hand over the reins, in my case, to them, it’s really about trying to make sure that we can salvage what’s left of photography and making sure that the new batch also gets the freedom to chart their own vision.”

Truly, this merger signals a new dawn for RIAC. Whatever the future holds, Ryan hopes that the juniors can “make a good legacy for what’s to come”. 

But more importantly, both Ryan and Jinxuan hope that the new batch doesn’t forget that RIAC is made up of two halves: Photography and Art Club. As Jinxuan puts it best:

“Like Jurong Pioneer, Yishun Innova – when you see the name, you think ‘Alright, they used to be separate, and now they’re together.’”

The beauty of sunsets is that no two are ever the same, each one a fleeting masterpiece brushed across the sky. The Batch of ’25 might have reached for their brushes, easels, and cameras to capture its glow. But now it is up to the Batch of ’26 to chase the light and create a sunset that is entirely their own.

Raffles Crew

Disclaimer: Both writers are from Raffles Crew.

To gain more insight regarding the merger of Raffles Crew, we sat down with Mr Tay Li Cheng and Mrs Dawn Wu, the teachers-in-charge of Film Society, and the EXCO of AVU (Audio Visual Unit) and Film Society (or FilmSoc) who shared with us the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

It started all the way back in July 2024—long before the rumours of CCA mergers began floating around school. 

Mr Tay and Mrs Wu shared that the process began as a consultative one with the school, involving discussions about the potential scope of the new CCA and manpower challenges. While many factors had to be taken into account, Mr Tay emphasised that the student experience ultimately remained the key consideration.

To no one’s surprise, members’ reactions to the merger were also of shock and confusion. Now caught in a peculiar situation, the EXCO had to navigate integrating the two seemingly incompatible CCAs. According to them, the initial experience was akin to the “five stages of grief.” 

Merger was never expected to be on the table for AVU, and as for FilmSoc, there were significant concerns initially of being “phased out” and “diluted” in the newly merged CCA.

The AVU and FilmSoc EXCOs came together for numerous meetings over the Nov-Dec holidays, trying to piece together a hopefully coherent and cohesive new CCA. 

With two completely different CCAs, there were bound to be different perspectives. Moreover, even as the general direction of the newly merged CCAs was decided, many details could only be ironed out and decided after the first batch joined Raffles Crew.  

Raffles Crew’s new direction can be explained in three words:

Raffles Crew was never meant to take on a “track” system, where members get to choose to specialise in either Film or AVU. Instead, members will get to experience both Film and AVU, creating a truly unique CCA experience (a rare chance to get two CCAs for the price of one—especially with the newly adopted one-CCA rule!)

However, as much as it creates an interesting and unique experience, it might also be a turn-off to potential members who would only be interested in one aspect of the CCA. 

“[It was an] almost schizophrenic experience marketing it” was how Mr Tay described one of Raffles Crew’s major obstacles—Open House ‘25. With the curriculum for the new batch still being in the works, it was hard to say what the new members could expect if they joined the CCA. 

Manpower issues also manifested themselves in terms of CCA recruitment, bringing the final member count of the pioneer batch of Raffles Crew turned out to be 11—a significant decrease compared to the previous combined Film Society and AVU batch total of 29. 

In other words, future batches will have to juggle the demands of school event support and filmmaking. 

Here’s what it looks like behind the scenes: Each ArtSeason, Raffles Crew will have to take on more than 10 different events along with their many respective rehearsals—a workload that might spell an end to a beloved Film Society tradition: an annual Y6 thesis film showcase, where the graduating batch presents their films to the school in the PAC. 

Hearing about the CCA mergers is one thing, but being part of one is another. In retrospect, change was inevitable for AVU—it would have happened in one form or another, sooner or later. As an ad-hoc CCA and based on the way we were structured, it was only a matter of time before we had to evolve to adapt to the changing demands of time. 

And in terms of mergers, we’re glad we ended up with Film Society—the teachers and members have been nothing but supportive, and it’s been such a unique journey watching our shared vision of Raffles Crew come to life. The challenges faced made the experience all the more rewarding, and seeing how the next batches carry forward and reshape the legacy of Raffles Crew based on what we’ve built has only made us more excited for what’s to come.

As Mr Tay beautifully put it:

“Change is the only constant – except from a vending machine.”

Whilst change can get messy, he remains excited that the new batches get to create or define their “Raffles Crew”, and the focus of Raffles Crew can be redefined according to each batch. 

As for Jonell Leong (25S03O), the Chairperson of Film Society ‘25, she hopes that Raffles Crew will remain a space that’s dedicated to honing and pursuing members’ interest in Film, while continuing the legacy of both AVU and FilmSoc. Similarly, William Tan (25S03Q), the Vice-Chairperson of FilmSoc ‘25, believes that for Raffles Crew to progress, the new batch will have to “make Raffles Crew their own CCA”. 

While the merger didn’t make complete sense at first, it’s starting to—kind of. Like the pilot season of a show, it’s full of unexpected choices, interesting coincidences (like how both original CCA jackets already had ‘Crew’ on the back), and a cast still finding its rhythm. But that’s what makes it exciting: they’re the OG cast of Raffles Crew, figuring it out as they go.

Conclusion

As they say: when one door closes, another opens. 

It’s too early to say what the newly merged CCAs will look like, and it’s hard to say when or how they’ll find their footing, but one thing’s for sure: this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the future batches to chart their own path.

As the last batches of Piano Ensemble, Chamber Ensemble, Photographic Society, Art Club, Film Society, and Audio Visual Unit graduate, they leave behind a lasting legacy, having  forged a new path for Chamber Ensemble, Raffles Image Art Collective (RIAC) and Raffles Crew. 

In the long history of Raffles Institution, perhaps our time will only be remembered as 13 words in the RAM archive. Yet with the newly merged CCAs, a new story begins—one that the next generation will write, frame, and stage for themselves.

This article is originally featured in our School Matters 2025 Special Edition.