What is so Awesome About CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel | 2026-2027 Edition

Did you know that CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel teaches Primary 1 and 2 girls speech and drama, gives Primary 4 to 6 pupils Critical Investigation, and brings debate into Primary 5 and 6 — all inside one Applied Learning Programme in Drama and Literary Arts?

The programme is called D’LitE, and its purpose is larger than performance. It uses drama, writing, literary appreciation and oracy to develop confident communicators who can think critically and appreciate the arts. Source: CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel Applied Learning Programme.

CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel was established in 1960 to serve girls in Serangoon Gardens, Yio Chu Kang and Seletar Hills. In 2025, the school marked its 65th anniversary with the theme “Celebrating a Legacy of Love and Learning.” Source: school history. Source: 65th Anniversary Feast Day.

So what is so awesome about CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel? It is the way language, literature, leadership, service and empathy are made to reinforce one another.

Independent eduKateSG profile checked on 4 October 2026. This is not a school ranking or school-endorsed publication. Programme details can change; families should use current official school information for cohort-specific decisions.

The Quick Answer: What Makes CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel Stand Out?

D’LitE brings language to life. Speech, drama, writing, debate and literary appreciation are progressively developed.
Critical Investigation adds thinking depth. Primary 4 to 6 pupils are given structured opportunities to inquire and analyse.
Leadership uses a Head–Heart–Hand model. Knowledge, empathy and action are treated as connected.
The school adopts The Leader in Me. Leadership development draws on the 7 Habits framework.
English is explicitly future-ready. STELLAR 2.0 is complemented by reading circles, creative writing, literary programmes and newsletters.
Chinese language programmes also connect with drama and musical experiences.
Service is central to school identity. The school’s mission prioritises justice, freedom, love and the needs of people who are disadvantaged.

Did You Know? The School Began at Cooling Close

The Convent of Our Lady of Good Counsel was established in 1960 in Serangoon Gardens, with its original main gate at Cooling Close. It grew quickly, became a full school in 1967, and later reorganised so that primary pupils remained while secondary students moved to St Joseph’s Convent. Source: official history.

In 1992, CHIJ was prefixed to the names of the IJ schools to reflect their common identity.

The school later underwent rebuilding, returning to its Burghley Drive campus in 2006 and formally opening the new facilities in 2008.

That history matters because it places OLGC inside the wider development of Singapore’s northeast and north-central residential landscape.

D’LitE: Language Is Stronger When It Has an Audience

OLGC’s Applied Learning Programme is D’LitE — Drama and Literary Arts.

The current programme includes:

Primary 1 and 2: Speech and Drama in English and Mother Tongue.
Primary 1 to 5: Chinese musical experiences.
Primary 4 to 6: Critical Investigation.
Primary 5 and 6: Debate.

Source: D’LitE ALP.

This progression is powerful because the communicative demand changes with age.

A young pupil first learns expression.

An older pupil has to analyse.

Then the pupil must argue, respond and defend a position.

Language becomes progressively more public and more intellectually demanding.

Drama: Perspective Is a Literacy Skill

Drama is especially useful because it asks pupils to inhabit another point of view.

Why would this character say that?

What does she know that another character does not?

How does emotion change the same sentence?

These are not only theatre questions.

They are comprehension questions.

They teach children that meaning depends on context, motive and perspective.

Debate: A Strong Argument Must Survive Another Argument

Debate in Primary 5 and 6 creates a useful intellectual stress test.

A pupil can no longer rely only on a prepared speech.

The opposing team may challenge the evidence.

A definition may be disputed.

An example may reveal a weakness.

The student has to listen and respond.

That is where argument becomes thinking rather than performance.

English: Multiliteracies, Metacognition and Inquiry Through Dialogue

OLGC’s 2026 English programme uses STELLAR 2.0 together with a school-based focus on multiliteracies, metacognition and inquiry through dialogue. Source: English Department.

The school adds programmes such as D’LitE Fortnight, Reading Circles, writing workshops, Readers’ Theatre, WOW! Writing, journal writing and class newsletters.

This breadth is useful because literacy today involves more than reading a printed passage.

Children need to interpret text, image, performance and media.

They need to reflect on how they learn.

And they need to produce language for different audiences.

Class Newsletters: Publishing Changes the Standard

OLGC’s English programme includes post-PSLE class-newsletter production.

This is a deceptively rich task.

A newsletter needs accurate information.

It needs structure.

It needs editing.

It needs to anticipate what a reader cares about.

Publishing turns writing into responsibility.

Chinese Language: Drama and Culture Keep Language Alive

The Chinese Language Department connects language learning to speech, drama, musicals, cultural celebrations and camps. Primary 1 and 2 girls receive an 8-to-10-hour speech and drama experience, and Primary 1 to 5 students attend different Chinese musical or drama productions. Source: Chinese Language.

This matters because language is easier to remember when it has voice, movement, story and cultural context.

A phrase heard in a performance carries more meaning than the same phrase memorised in isolation.

Leadership Through Head, Heart and Hand

CHIJ OLGC’s Learning for Life Programme uses the Head–Heart–Hand approach.

Head: know, understand and appreciate.
Heart: develop gratitude, empathy and passion to serve.
Hand: inspire, lead and serve through action.

The school also uses The Leader in Me and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Student Leaders. Source: LLP.

This is a strong sequence because leadership becomes incomplete if any one part is missing.

Head without Heart may understand a problem but ignore the people affected.

Heart without Hand may care deeply but never act.

Hand without Head may rush into action without understanding the problem.

Strong leadership needs all three.

Laudato Si’ Gardening: Leadership Can Care for Place

The school’s LLP page documents a Laudato Si’ Gardening Project in which student leaders used gardening as a way to connect service, gratitude and care for the environment. Source: LLP.

The educational value is not the competition result alone.

It is the connection between stewardship and action.

A value such as care becomes easier to understand when the learner is responsible for something living.

An eduKateSG Example: Turn a Book Review Into an Argument

The following is our illustration, not a documented OLGC assignment.

Imagine a pupil recommends a book by saying, “This book is interesting.”

That is an opinion.

A stronger recommendation identifies evidence.

“The story creates suspense because the reader knows the character is entering danger before the character realises it.”

Now the pupil has moved from reaction to explanation.

The same shift matters in debate, composition and comprehension.

Confidence becomes more useful when it is attached to reasons.

The 65th Anniversary: A Legacy of Love and Learning

In 2025, CHIJ OLGC marked its 65th anniversary through its Feast Day celebration, using the theme “Celebrating a Legacy of Love and Learning.” Source: Feast Day 2025.

Anniversaries matter educationally when they do more than look backward.

They can ask a school community:

Which values are worth carrying forward?

Which practices need to evolve?

How should an old mission speak to new problems?

That is heritage as a living conversation.

What Families Can Borrow From OLGC’s Learning Design

Use drama to develop perspective, not only confidence.
Teach debate as listening plus reasoning.
Give writing real audiences through publishing.
Use cultural performance to deepen language learning.
Build leadership through Head, Heart and Hand.
Connect service to stewardship of real places and communities.

The eduKateSG Learning Connection

OLGC’s programme architecture demonstrates how words become action.

Reading gives the learner ideas.

Drama gives those ideas perspective and voice.

Debate subjects them to challenge.

Writing organises them for a reader.

Leadership asks which ideas deserve action.

Service asks whether the action helps.

That is a complete learning loop.

How CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel Connects to the eduKateSG Singapore Graph

CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel is at 2C Burghley Drive, Singapore 558979, in the Serangoon Gardens area. Source: official contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel established?

The school was established in 1960 in Serangoon Gardens. Official history.

What is D’LitE?

D’LitE is the school’s Applied Learning Programme in Drama and Literary Arts, combining speech, drama, writing, literary appreciation, Critical Investigation and debate. Official ALP.

What is the Learning for Life Programme?

It develops student leaders through real-life service learning using a Head–Heart–Hand approach and The Leader in Me framework. Official LLP.

Where is CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel?

2C Burghley Drive, Singapore 558979. Official contact page.

Official References Checked for the 2026–2027 Edition

So, What Is So Awesome About CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel?

It is the way language is allowed to grow into leadership.

Speech becomes drama.

Drama becomes perspective.

Perspective strengthens debate.

Debate strengthens judgment.

Leadership turns judgment toward service.

Did you know that this may be one of the best reasons to teach language deeply?

Because a child who can understand, explain and listen well is better equipped to make a difference.