Author: Tang Lanyun (23S05A)

Commentary, School Life

RI200 Special: The Hunt to Find a Home
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Tang Lanyun (23S05A) and Hsiao Jia Ying (23A01C)

To every RI student, the House system seems almost like an immutable part of the school, given how deeply entrenched it is in our school culture. However, it has not  always been this way. 

When looking back on RI’s history, 2005 stands out as a year that brought a remarkable whirlwind of change to the school. Alongside the move to its brand-new Bishan campus, RI (then RJC) was awarded independent status and was the first pre-university institution in Singapore to receive the pinnacle School Excellence Award. All this was accompanied by a wave of educational reforms, including a revised A-level syllabus, which meant the ‘triple science’ combination (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Math) were soon to be a thing of the past. Students and teachers alike felt as though the college was at a crossroads amidst a swiftly-changing educational landscape. 

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Music Reviews, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

Alternative Rock and Its Many Faces
Reading Time: 8 minutes

By Tang Lanyun (23S05A)

Alternative rock isn’t so much a genre as it is an attitude. Emerging from the underground punk scene of the 70s, alt-rock lacks a defining sound; rather, it is characterised by its independent ethos and scepticism toward the mainstream. 

Though its acts rarely experience the whirlwind fame of their commercial contemporaries, over the years a few have managed to attain cult status, whose albums endure in music’s collective memory.

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School Life

Some Dreams From Now: RI200 Anthology Launch
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Saara Katyal (23S05A) and Tang Lanyun (23S05A)

On the 14th of January, the Yusof Ishak Atrium was unusually abuzz with activity as a crowd of distinguished guests gathered to witness the launch of the RI200 literary anthology, Some Dreams From Now: 135 Years of Rafflesian Writing. In attendance were members of RI’s Board of Governors, principals past and present, as well as contributors to the anthology.

Some Dreams From Now was conceived by alumnus Theophilus Kwek (Class of 2012) and Mrs Cheryl Yap, Head of Alumni Relations & Archives. In 2021, fourteen literature students recruited from Y4-Y6 began the arduous process of trawling through the archives of student publications such as The Rafflesian, and reading the published works of noted Rafflesian alumni to identify pieces for the anthology. 

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CCA Events, School Life, Sports

Storming to Victory: Kiwi Cup 2023
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Alison Tan (23S03A) and Tang Lanyun (23S05A)

The stadium was abuzz with anticipation on the afternoon of 18 January 2023, as supporters from RI and St. Andrew’s Junior College gathered in the cool shade to cheer on their respective rugby teams. With the match being on RI’s home turf, droves of students from across all 6 years filled out the stands and the area adjacent to the field. Students stationed at the front of the stands waved the Institution flag; others milled about, waiting for the action to begin.

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Book Reviews, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

Raffles Reads: Daughter of the Deep
Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Tang Lanyun (23S05A)

Raffles Reads is a collaboration between Raffles Press and Times Reads which aims to promote a reading culture among Singaporean students.

Rating: 4/5

Rick Riordan’s rip-roaring sci-fi debut pays homage to one of the genre’s founding fathers, Jules Verne. Inspired by “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, Daughter of the Deep imagines a world in which the fantastical events Verne envisioned in his novel were indeed historical fact. The book itself spins a riveting tale of teenage ingenuity against impossible odds, whose high school characters break the mold of typical middle-grade (and Y/A) protagonists. With a clear love for the source material, Riordan deftly reinvigorates Verne’s classics for a modern audience, while also appreciating the diversity present in our society.

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