Standing at 31 metres tall, the Clock Tower is a landmark for the Bukit Timah area, being surrounded by low-rise buildings. Construction of the Clock Tower ended in 1925, six years after the opening of the Chinese High School in 1919. The four clocks atop the Clock Tower were donated by the Japanese luxury watch company Seiko. In the past, during World War 2, the Clock Tower was used by both Japanese and British troops as a surveillance point, as its strategic location and height gave it an excellent view over Singapore.

On 19 March 1999, the Clock Tower was gazetted as a national monument, in recognition of the Chinese High School being the first Chinese-medium secondary school to be built in South-East Asia.