‘Come back… be here’: Singapore American School invites Taylor Swift to visit her mother’s alma mater

SINGAPORE – The Singapore American School (SAS) is inviting American superstar Taylor Swift, who is in town to perform six sold-out shows until March 9, to visit her mother Andrea Swift’s alma mater.

The international school, which was founded in 1956, also hopes Mrs Swift will attend its first on-campus alumni reunion in 2025.

It invited the singer and her mum for a visit after The Straits Times reported on March 4 that Mrs Swift, now 66, studied at SAS King’s Road campus between 1968 and 1969.

SAS middle school principal Chris Beingessner told ST: “We are thrilled to learn that such an iconic, positive and influential global role model is connected to our school.

“We have many notable alumni, and are honoured to include Andrea on that list.”

He added that several of the school’s students have already reached out to Taylor Swift and her team “to make that connection and extend that invitation”.

The SAS community has been buzzing with excitement after learning that the mother of one of the world’s biggest celebrities was once an “eagle”, as SAS students call themselves.

“I went to the same school as Taylor Swift’s mum, (but) just 20 years later,” an alumnus wrote on Facebook.

“Well, now we have to go to the big reunion next year because what if Taylor Swift’s mum goes and she goes with her?” another alumnus wrote.

Singaporean-American actress Julia Nickson, 65, said she last met Mrs Swift in Houston, the United States, in early 1990s and remembered her as a “lovely friend” and a “kind and pleasant person”. She also saw Taylor Swift, who was then around two years old.

Ms Nickson told ST via Facebook: “I ran away once at nine years old and went right to Andrea’s house. Her mother Marjorie was so kind, but of course, they returned me home.”

The late Marjorie Finlay was Taylor Swift’s maternal grandmother, who inspired the singer’s emotional track Marjorie from her 2020 album Evermore.

Mrs Finlay was an opera singer and had performed in Singapore in 1968.

Ms Nancy MacIntyre, who was in the same fifth-grade class as Mrs Swift, said she remembered hanging out with her at the black-and-white colonial bungalow of the latter’s family in the 1960s.

She recalled that the house had a lawn big enough for Mrs Swift’s family and friends to play croquet.

Ms Nickson said the bungalow was likely located near Whitley Road and Mount Pleasant.

First introduced by the British in the 1900s, black-and-white colonial bungalows are characterised by their half-timber construction, over-hanging hipped roof, large open grounds and white-washed walls, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

There are about 600 black-and-white bungalows in Singapore that are managed by the Singapore Land Authority and can be found in areas such as Sembawang, Scotts Road and Bukit Timah.

Ms MacIntyre said: “We attended sleepovers and birthday parties, played at recess together, played croquet at our respective houses, and she and I rode at the same stables. I have good memories of her and her family.”

She added that most of the children at SAS in the 1960s had parents who moved to Singapore for work in the oil industry or military, adding that some worked as missionaries and diplomats.

In a 2010 interview, Taylor Swift told ST that her maternal grandfather Robert Finlay moved his family here for a few years while working in an engineering company.

Ms MacIntyre said the late 1960s was an exciting time as Singapore had just gained its independence in 1965 and “lots were happening”.

She told ST via Facebook: “We knew kampungs and street and night markets… We attended one of the best schools in the world (and) marvelled at the tropical paradise.

“I remember Andrea fondly as one of the kids who shared those special experiences we all had together.”