Queen's Scholar - Charles Spence Angus & James Aitken

Bagaimana bermulanya QS? Sedikit petikan info yang diperolehi dari sebuah laman menyebut (link):

In 1885, Governor Cecil Clementi Smith introduced the first Higher Scholarships for boys in the Straits Settlements. The inaugural Higher Scholarship examinations were held in 1885 but no one passed, although RI’s Charles Spence Angus emerged top. These examinations were heavily criticised for their unrealistic expectations, and it was decided that the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate should set the examinations for 1886.

In that examination, four Rafflesians obtained top scores. The two best candidates, Song Ong Siang (1871–1941) and J. A. Remedios were disqualified, Song on account of being under-aged, and Remedios because he was not a British subject. The first scholarships were thus awarded to Charles Spence Angus and James Aitken. Song topped the examinations again in 1887, and then in 1888, before he was allowed to take up the Scholarship, having by then attained the age of 18.

Charles Angus and James Aitken who went on to study Engineering and Law respectively. Angus would later return to join the Perak Government, while Aitken would go on to set up a law firm with Song Ong Siang, a Queen’s Scholar in 1888.

Queen's Scholar  1886-1888

(Rear left to right) James Aitken, Charles Spence Angus, P. V. Locke, D. A. Aeria 

(Front left to right) Lim Boon Keng, and Song Ong Siang. These young men represented the cream of Singapore’s brightest minds.

Sedikit info ringkas keluarga Spencer boleh baca di sini (link). Disebut bahawa Spencer (b.1865) dan ibu beliau bernama Rabeah (?).

Baca juga peranakan museum spore - (link).

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