Hwa Chong Institution (High School)

Hwa Chong Institution, a premier independent school in Singapore, is the culmination of the watershed merger between the former Chinese High School (founded 1919) and Hwa Chong Junior College (founded 1974) in 2005. Today, Hwa Chong is one of the finest educational institutions for high-achievers and the gifted in the region. Its reputation as a premier school is based not only on the academic excellence of the students but also their determination to excel in all other areas like leadership, sports and games, co-curricular activities, science research, and service to the community.

With a rich history and a distinguished heritage, the school is constantly venturing into new frontiers. In 2007, we set up the Hwa Chong-Beijing satellite campus in China. In 2008, Hwa Chong became the first independent school to pioneer the Future Schools @ Singapore initiative. In 2009, we will be implementing the Integrated Boarding Programme to develop our students' intellectual, leadership, and personal potential.

To allow our students to explore and further develop their interests in various fields, Hwa Chong offers a wide array of programmes. At the high school section, the Centre for Scholastic Excellence (CSE) was set up in 2008 for high achievers to attempt an expanded upper secondary curriculum with a more independent and student-centred approach. The Science and Math Talent Programme (SMTP), under the umbrella of CSE, provides opportunities for students to undertake research projects under the professional guidance of our teachers. Students also take part in science fairs and conferences in Singapore and internationally, and often do Hwa Chong proud by clinching the top prizes.

Official Site

Hwa Chong Institution Participants

Students:
Benjamin Chin
Chen Qingyang
Tan Yingze
Alexander Lim Geng Wang
Kee Jia Hao Nicholas
Sim Meng Ying
Ong Bo Qing
Ng Peng
Darren Lum

Hwa Chong Institution Project Abstracts

Chitin and Its Derivatives as a Potential Medical Iron (III) Ion Chelator
Benjamin Chin
Tan Yingze
Chen Qingyang

Thalassemic patients suffer from transfusional iron overload, but current iron chelation drugs are either unsafe or not orally active. Chitin, a polysaccharide found in shells of crustaceans, is known to chelate metal ions in waste water treatment. This project aimed to find out if chitin and its derivatives can be used as an iron chelation drug. Chitin was deacetylated with sodium hydroxide solutions of different concentrations, and the derivatives were characterised by using IR spectroscopy and titration with PVSK. Chelation studies were carried out at different pHs, and finally in simulated blood conditions. Results show that degree of deacetylation increases with concentration of sodium hydroxide solution, and chelation ability increases with degree of deacetylation. The optimum pH for chelation was found to be 7. Chitin deacetylated with 50% NaOH solution has the greatest potential to be a biomedical iron (III) ion chelator as its chelation ability is comparable to current drugs.


Bacterial Plastics
Alexander Lim Geng Wang
Nicholas Kee Jia Hao
Sim Meng Ying

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are polymers which are produced by the bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus when grown in several carbon rich but nitrogen deficient sources. It is biodegradable and is derived from renewable sources like carbon dioxide and water, thus making it economically and environmentally viable. This study thus aims to find out which carbon source allows for the highest growth of Alcaligenes eutrophus strain 17699 and highest yield of polymer when grown in it. A heavy inoculum of A. eutrophus was transferred into a fermentation medium containing an excess of a carbon source and left to grow until stationary phase is reached. The dry weight of cells when grown in different carbon sources was compared. The polymer was then extracted from the cell using sodium hypochlorite. A. eutrophus showed the highest growth rate in fructose, followed by lactose. It did not utilize glucose as a carbon source. It was also found that when grown in fructose for seven days, A. eutrophus produced a higher yield of polymer (69.57% of dry weight of cells) than when grown in fructose for four days (51.43% of dry weight of cells), thus suggesting that increasing the period of growth results in an increased yield of polymer.


Electrical Heat Pack to Promote Blood Circulation
Ong Bo Qing
Ng Peng
Darren Lum

Poor blood circulation can lead to great discomfort and serious health implications. The focus of our project was to develop an electrical heat pack. Heat packs are most commonly used to treat poor blood circulation and injuries, however the existing ones are not very convenient to use. The electrical heat pack is portable, energy saving and most important convenient to use. Moreover the electrical heat pack has an adjustable temperature control for user to control the temperature of the heat pack.