Confessions of an ex-prefect

The Prefects' Pledge:

"I accept the responsibilities of a leader in this school, and promise to give of my best in attitude, manner and action, and to encourage others to do likewise".

Here are some prefects I used to know..what a merry bunch!

TOUR OF DUTY

Confessions of an ex-BBGS prefect

(Note: This highly original and realistic article is re-produced from the School Centenary Magazine. It's raised a few chuckles from someone who spent too many years as a Prefect ;-)

It must be the least enviable job, being a prefect, that is.

You not only have to ensure your uniform is well-starched at all times, but that your hair has to be tightly tied up with matching black or white ribons, with not a single strand of hair unclipped.

You have to get to school early so as to do gate duty (to catch late-comers) and lining-up duty. You have to gobble down your meal at recess time so that you can rush from class to class to check if desks are straight, if girls have comics or Mills & Boons in their bags or desks, if notice boards are well-maintained, if flowers are present etc. If you are not on this duty, you have to go around making sure the girls are wearing their school and house badges (although badges are now sewn onto uniforms) and that their skirts are not more than three inches above their knees.

The upside of being a prefect is that you get to dish out the punishment. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it used to be map drawing (usually map of North America), but in the 1980's, culprits had to write essays and recite sajak in front of the headmistress during assembly. (Prefects get more wicked as girls become more devious)

And prefects have their own room. The first we had was a narrow space, converted from an old storeroom below the headmistress' office, where we fitted one of those cowboy swing doors and where we set up our own drinks corner back in 1973. Later, the Prefects' Room moved to a fairly large comfortable space above the Junior Library. Having a room to call your own is a great privilege. You can take a rest or do your homework there instead of in the library with the rest of the crowd This room stores confiscated comics, spare bows (for Sixth Formers who forget to bring theirs), badges, lost and found items etc. There are times when the temptation to read the confiscated comics is quite great. That's why prefects had those occasional bonfires in those days - to kill those temptations, once and for all!

BBGS prefects have honourable programmes to administer oo. Like the Prefects' Campaign which started in 1965 as an attempt to foster the giving spirit in every BBGS girl. During the many years it ran, BBGS collected thousands to donate to charitable organisations like the Lady Templer Hospital, the Retarded Children's Association, and the Malaysian Association for the Blind , to name a few.

Prefects in BBGS are first nominated, then elected by the girls. The school captain and vice-captain are chosen by the teachers and headmistress. There is also a Junior Prefects' Board that duplicates the functions of the Senior Board in the afternoon school session.