The Catholic Mission Fathers founded St. John’s School in the early 1930s. It was one of the first English schools at that time and the students received lessons in an old wooden building, which also served as the church.
In 1941, during the Japanese occupation of Brunei, the school was closed. In 1961, the semi-permanent primary block was built, to which extensions were later added. St. John’s school now includes facilities like an air-conditioned learning resource centre, audio-visual room, computer and science laboratories. Today, it has an enrolment of about 1,000 pupils. It caters to pupils from diverse background and offers education from kindergarten, Primary to Form 5.
St. John’s remained a government aided school up to 1985. Today it is self financing, from school fees, donations and fund raising. The last Parish Priest who served as school principal was Rev. Fr. Paul Tong. Fr. Tong departed from Brunei in June 1987. It is now managed by the Board of Governors, with the Rev. Fr. Cornelius Sim as the Chairman. The school badge, a symbol of an eagle perched on a rock, continues to be used in school awards, certificates and flags. The school continues to reaffirm the founding Father’s motto of LOVE and SERVICE. Its vision is to become the school of choice, dedicated to the development of young people mentally, physically and spiritually, where youth are able to use their potential to achieve their own goals, for the betterment of the Belait community in particular, and Negara Brunei Darussalam in general.
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