Sekolah Menengah Chung Hua No.1

About Chung Hua Middle School No. 1

Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 is a Chinese Independent High School in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. It was established in 1958, when a new Chinese middle school was built on Pending Road and took the No. 1 designation, and it traces deeper roots to the post-war Chung Hua Middle School formed in 1945 under a combined board of Kuching Chinese organisations. It is the oldest surviving Chinese Independent School in Sarawak and one of the 14 such schools in the state, part of a national group of about 60 Chinese Independent High Schools.

The school should not be confused with Kuching High School, a separate government-aided national-type secondary school that developed from the former Chung Hua Middle School No. 2. The two institutions share historical roots in the same Kuching Chinese school board, but Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 stayed independent and remains on the UEC pathway. As of 2013 the school recorded around 1,670 students, with more recent figures placing enrolment near 1,700.

Curriculum at Chung Hua Middle School No. 1

Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 follows the six-year Chinese independent curriculum: Junior Middle 1 to 3 followed by Senior Middle 1 to 3. Mandarin is the medium of instruction, Bahasa Melayu is compulsory, and English is taught throughout. The programme leads to the Unified Examination Certificate, the standardised qualification set and marked by the United Chinese School Committees Association (Dong Zong), with major papers at Junior Middle 3 and Senior Middle 3.

Alongside the UEC, the school enters students for the national SPM, so graduates leave with both qualifications. Running the two tracks in parallel adds to the workload, but it keeps two doors open: the UEC for many overseas and private universities and Sarawak public institutions, and the SPM for the national system. The reported SPM passing rate for the 2021 cohort was about 91.82 percent.

Fees at Chung Hua Middle School No. 1

Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 is community funded rather than government funded, drawing on tuition, alumni support, and Sarawak state grants. The school does not publish a standard fee table online. Fees at Chinese Independent High Schools generally fall in the range of roughly RM 3,000 to RM 12,000 per year, varying by grade level and whether a student boards or attends as a day student. For current figures, including any registration or examination charges, families should contact the school directly.

Since 2014 the Sarawak government has given annual grants to all 14 Chinese independent secondary schools in the state, with the total allocation rising from RM 3 million at the start to RM 10 million in recent years. That support helps schools like Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 hold fees within reach for local Chinese families.

Admissions at Chung Hua Middle School No. 1

Entry to Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 is usually at Junior Middle 1, after a child completes Chinese primary school (SJKC). Some students join at later points by transfer. A working grounding in Mandarin matters, because it is the teaching medium across subjects. Places are sought after, so families are advised to enquire early in the admission cycle.

The school is on Pending Road in Kuching. To ask about intake dates, entry assessments, and required documents, contact the school on 082-331599.

Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 in Sarawak

Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 sits in Kuching, the centre of Chinese education in Sarawak. Sarawak holds a distinct place in the UEC story: it was the first Malaysian state to recognise the certificate, in 2014, ahead of Penang, Selangor, and Malacca. That recognition now extends to free tertiary study, with eligible UEC graduates able to enrol at state-owned higher learning institutions, among them Curtin Malaysia, Swinburne Sarawak, i-CATS University College, and Centexs, without paying tuition.

For a Kuching family weighing the Chinese independent route, that state policy changes the calculation. A UEC from Chung Hua Middle School No. 1, paired with the SPM the school also offers, can lead to a fully funded place at a Sarawak university, a pathway that did not exist for earlier cohorts.