Buangkok Calligraphy Class: Parent and Child Mondays at 7pm

Buangkok Community Club, at 70 Compassvale Bow, #01-25, Singapore 544692, holds its Chinese calligraphy class on Monday evenings in a level-2 activity room, and it is one of the few in Singapore where a parent and a seven-year-old can learn side by side. The current ten-session run goes from 14 September to 23 November 2026, 7pm to 9pm, taught in English by Oon Lak Yong, with fees listed from S$95 to S$105.

The address on onePA, 70 Compassvale Bow, is the Sengkang Grand Mall development, so the community club shares a building with a shopping mall and sits next to Buangkok MRT station on the North East Line. For a calligraphy class that ends at 9pm, that is about as convenient as it gets: you step out of class and onto the train, or into the mall for a late dinner.

The class itself is held in what the course listing calls BKCC L2 Activity Room 1, on the second level, rather than at the #01-25 counter. The counter is where you go for enquiries and is staffed from 10am to 6pm, so on a Monday evening head straight upstairs.

The requirements section on onePA is specific. It describes a combined class of adults and children aged seven and above, open to both new and ongoing students. Children aged 12 and below must be accompanied by a parent, and that parent also has to sign up as a participant, so a family of two pays for two places and both of them write.

That rule turns the class into something different from a children's enrichment session. A parent who sits beside a child for two hours is practising the same brush handling, and the course description stresses correct brush handling and writing technique so that everyone gains an understanding of Chinese calligraphy as an art. Search tags on the listing include kaishu, the regular script most beginners start with.

The trainer profile describes Oon Lak Yong as a Chinese calligraphy enthusiast who studied for six years under the late Master Liu Pau Kiang and then took up calligraphy studies at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. He won awards twice in the Jill Sackler Chinese Calligraphy contest, in 2003 and 2007.

He also volunteers as a calligraphy instructor at the Shin Zhong Taijiquan Association, Fei Yue Active Ageing Centre at Hougang Dewcourt, Jalan Kayu Zone 2 RC and Hwi Yoh Community Centre. His teaching record on onePA dates these roles: Fei Yue Active Ageing Centre from January 2018, Jalan Kayu Zone 2 RC from January 2019 and Hwi Yoh Community Centre from January 2023. Years of teaching seniors and residents' groups mean he is used to mixed abilities, which suits a class where a grandparent, a parent and a child might share a table.

The autumn run has ten two-hour sessions on Mondays from 14 September, with a note that there is no class on 9 November. The last session falls on 23 November 2026. Ten sessions is longer than the eight-week runs at many other community clubs, and at the lower listed fee it works out to under S$10 an hour of tuition.

The listing marks the class as being for new and ongoing students, so a first-timer may share the room with people continuing from earlier runs. For a beginner that is useful: you see what a few terms of Monday practice produce, and the trainer's demonstrations are pitched so newcomers can start on basic strokes from the first evening.

Materials are not part of the course fee. The listing says new students will be told by the trainer where to buy their materials, and for the first session the trainer lends materials to new students, so you do not need to shop before your first Monday. The general class details add that the trainer collects the material fee directly.

That arrangement is helpful for families. Rather than buying two full sets on a guess, you can try the borrowed brush and ink in the first lesson and then buy only what Mr Oon recommends for each of you. Children's hands and adults' hands often suit different brush sizes, which is one more reason to wait for his advice.

Registration for the September run closed on its first day, 14 September, and the onePA page now shows the class as closed with a note to contact the CC. New runs are listed on onePA under Buangkok CC, and one transaction can register at most five participants, which is enough for most families booking together.

Having a onePA account set up in advance saves time when the next run opens, since registration and payment both happen there.

Buangkok MRT station is next door, and Sengkang station is one stop north. Compass One, the mall at 1 Sengkang Square beside Sengkang station, is about a kilometre away and a natural place to buy extra practice paper or stationery for children between classes.

For something calmer, Sengkang Riverside Park lies to the north-west along the Punggol River, with long riverside paths. A weekend walk there with a child who has just learned the character for water, 水, is a pleasant way to connect what happens on the paper with the world outside.

Address: Buangkok Community Club, 70 Compassvale Bow, #01-25, Singapore 544692 (Sengkang Grand Mall); class in BKCC L2 Activity Room 1. Email: PA_BUANGKOKCC@PA.GOV.SG. Counter services: 10am to 6pm. Current run: Mondays, 14 September to 23 November 2026, 7pm to 9pm, ten sessions, no class on 9 November. Fee: from S$95 to S$105; materials bought separately, with loan materials for new students' first session. Ages: seven and above; children 12 and under must attend with a registered parent. Language: English. Course code: C027237128.