Catholic Junior College relocating to new site in Punggol

Catholic Junior College (CJC) is relocating from its Whitley Road campus to a new site in Punggol, in the vicinity of the Punggol Digital District (PDD).

The new campus is targeted for operation tentatively in 2034.

Gan Kim Yong, Desmond Lee present

The announcement was made at the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) between CJC and its key partners, held at PDD.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, and Grassroots Adviser for Punggol GRC Grassroots Organisations, Gan Kim Yong, was present as the guest-of-honour.

Minister for Education Desmond Lee, along with representatives from partner organisations, alumni, parents and students, were also present.

Relocation guided by three considerations

CJC’s school management committee chairman Bernard Tan shared that the relocation follows careful study and consideration with stakeholders over two years.

The move was guided by three considerations: the ageing Whitley Road campus, the availability of a site in Punggol to serve the north-east community in Singapore, and the strategic educational opportunities presented by the neighbouring PDD.

He noted that Whitley Road was regarded as a “prime” location because of its central location and proximity to population centres and schools in Singapore.

However, he acknowledged Singapore has changed, with population centres and schools having shifted, and transport links having developed.

MOUs with key partners

“Being in the vicinity of PDD offers CJC several huge synergies,” Tan noted.

To anchor this next phase, CJC today signed MOUs with a group of key partners to formalise programme collaborations and joint initiatives.

These partners include Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), JTC Corporation, National Parks Board (NParks), National Youth Council (NYC), Pathlight School and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).

For one, the move means that CJC will be close neighbours with SIT, Tan noted.

The two institutions has thus signed an MOU to work out "concrete collaborations" to the benefit of both.

Furthermore, being in PDD exposes students to the digital transformation, such as developments in AI, cybersecurity, and data management, Tan said.

As such, the school is working with CSA, JTC, and MINDEF DIS to explore how they can bring this to life.

Students are also expected to have more accessibility to environmental learning, conservation projects, and practical initiatives when the school is in the vicinity to PDD.

CJC has signed an MOU with NParks and working with NEA to drive this forward.

Collaboration with partners are expected to start from this year, with programmes and student opportunities progressively developed and introduced over the next year.

These collaborations will commence ahead of the physical move to allow students to benefit from educational synergies even before the new campus is completed.

Not a simple relocation

Gan, who is also Punggol’s Member of Parliament (MP) also gave a speech at the event, explaining that the move was not a simple relocation but a deliberate choice.

He explained that PDD, Singapore’s flagship innovation district, is designed to “integrate education, industry, community and nature, and bring good jobs and opportunities closer to residents”.

He pointed out that SIT is located within the PDD, so that education and industry interact closely in regular and practical ways.

“CJC’s move is therefore not just a simple relocation,” Gan said.

“Rather, it is a deliberate choice to situate pre-university education within an ecosystem where knowledge is applied, skills are developed, and students can better connect what they learn to the world beyond school."

As such, being in proximity with the PDD will enable learning at CJC to be “grounded and purposeful”, he added.

Top photos from Wu Xueting/Mothership