The beginning of Assumption Pathway School can be traced back to 17 January 1938, when it was first set up and named the St Joseph's Trade School.
It was started by two religious brothers from the Catholic Order of the Brothers of St Gabriel, at the invitation of the Bishop of Malacca, Mgr A. Devals to set up a school for the training of poor and destitute boys.
It began with only two buildings funded by the Aw Brothers and the inaugural intake of only 14 boys.
The courses conducted then were General Mechanics, Carpentry and Printing.
St Joseph's Trade School was taken over by the Japanese during World War II. After the war, and on the initiative of Bishop Olcomendy, the Brothers of St Gabriel re-opened the trade school and an orphanage to house 15 orphans whose parents had perished during the war.
In 1950, the Forging, Welding and Motor Mechanics sections were started. In 1951, St Joseph's Trade School became a government-aided school.
Students who failed primary school and those who drop out of the secondary schools formed the bulk of the student's enrolment.
In 1953, two new sections, the Rattan and Men's Tailoring were started. In 1963, with the aid of the Forty Base Workshop REME, Asia Foundation and Colombo Plan, more equipment and furniture were purchased for the Printing Department.
There was also curriculum changes for the Mechanics students. They were given general training in the first year followed by a two-year trade course in one of the following trades: Motor Mechanics, Machine Shop, Forge/Welding and Electricity.
In 1970, St Joseph's Trade School was renamed Boy's Town Trade School. A year later, it was renamed Boy's Town Vocational Institute.
The Institute received a S$3 million grant financed primarily by the West German Government through Misereor (a West German Catholic Charitable Organisation) and other benefactors of Boy's Town.
In 1989 and 1991, the Rattan and Men's Tailoring courses were phased out.
On 1 April 1994, the Boy's Town Vocational Institute was renamed Assumption Vocational Institute (AVI) to facilitate the intake of girls the following year.
The Institute underwent S$8 million renovation and upgrading prorgamme and shifted to a temporary location at the former Mountbatten Vocational Institute at Dakota Crescent. Courses were revamped to better reflect the needs of the students and the industry.
The Metal Machining, Motor Mechanics, Carpentry, General Welding and Printing Courses were phased out.
The National Trade Certificate Grade 3 (NTC-3) Electrical Installation and Servicing Course remained and first-year Basic Vocational Training (BVT) Programme was restructured and the new NTC-3 Mechanical Servicing Course was introduced.
In January 1995, 64 girls were enrolled into two classes for the first time in the history of AVI. They joined the new nontechnical option of the BVT Programme. After a year of full-time training, these girls received on-thejob training for 11 months and were awarded the Certificate of Vocational Training (CoVT).
In 1995, the AVI Management Committee was inaugurated with Mr Gerard Ee as Chairman. The Committee comprises the Brothers of St Gabriel, alumni of AVI and representative from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). On 3 January 1996, the Institute moved back to its newly refurbished buildings in Boy's Town.
The courses conducted then were the BVT Programme and the NTC-3 Electrical Servicing and NTC-3 Mechanical Servicing Courses.
In July 2002, together with the phasing out of the NTC-2 and ITC Certifications and the introduction of the Nitec and Higher Nitec Certifications in ITE, the NTC-3 was phased out and the ITE Skills Certificate (ISC) was introduced.
Those who were awarded the ISC certificate could seek employment with the basic skills equipped during the two-year training and those who did well could progress to further training at ITE colleges.
Courses available for their choice are Nitec in Automotive Technology, Building Servicing Technology, Electrical Technology, Electronics, Mechatronics, Mechanical Technology and Culinary Service. In January 2006, AVI started a new ISC Food Preparation and Service Course to cater to the demands of the hospitality trade and to have a better training for the non-technical girls and some boys who prefer this course.
In March 2008, the St Gabriel's Foundation together with MOE and ITE announced the enhancement and upgrading of AVI with a grant of $28 million. AVI was renamed Assumption Pathway School (APS) in January 2009, as it began its enrollment of 300 students. In 2011 at the completion of the refurbishment APS will be able to accommodate 700 students.