Neil Richards | Celebrating a century of excellence

The splendid score of 100 will not relate to performance in academics or a sport. It will be related to the 100th anniversary of the founding of Kingston College (KC) and St Andrew High School for Girls.

Both schools were established only a few months apart. In April 2025, KC will have good reasons to celebrate its 100 years of existence. September 2025 is when St Andrew High School will also have solid justification to celebrate that magnificent score.

Kingston College was originally located at 114¾ East Street — in the vicinity of the current headquarters of The Gleaner newspaper. In 1926, the almost brand-new institution commonly referred to as KC relocated to its North Street main campus. The Melbourne campus at Upper Elleston Road was purchased from Melbourne Cricket Club in 1963-64 to accommodate the Grades 7-9 (equivalent to Form 1, Form 2, and Form 3.).

St Andrew High School has not relocated from its original site of eight acres, which extend from Cecelio Avenue to Hope Road in south-east St Andrew. “In 2012, initial steps were taken to purchase the land adjacent to the school” for the purpose of constructing additional facilities.

TRIUMPH

The founding of KC, in particular, was a triumph for wider access to secondary education for the disadvantaged classes of Jamaicans. The systemic embargo on open access to secondary education for the progenies of previously enslaved Jamaicans was gradually being relaxed. This remained as one of the post-emancipation hindrances that stymied the upward mobility of the majority of young Jamaicans.

A progressive policy directive emphasised that ethnicity and social status should not be a condition for student admission to KC.

Kingston College emerged from delayed education initiatives by the Anglican Diocese of Jamaica, which had previously established other secondary schools islandwide, including St Hugh’s in 1899, St Hilda’s in 1906, and DeCarteret in 1919.

In 1925, Bishop Percival Gibson was appointed headmaster of the new Kingston College, a post that he held until his enthronement as Diocesan in 1956. Bishop Gibson was succeeded as headmaster of KC by his protégé, Douglas Forrest. In the centenary year of the founding of Kingston College, educator Dave Myrie is principal of the school.

St Andrew High School (originally named The Jamaica High School for Girls) was founded as a partnership of the Presbyterian Church in Jamaica and the then Wesleyan Synod of Jamaica. There were successive UK-born headmistress of the school before distinguished educator Fay Saunders became the first Jamaican headmistress of St Andrew High School, a post that she held during the period 1968 – 1974. The current principal of St Andrew High School in this the centenary year of its founding is Mrs. Keeva Ingram.

GOOD INDICATOR

A good indicator of the strong academics tradition of KC and St Andrew High School is the proud number of their graduates who have gained scholarships tenable at Ivy League universities.

Co-curricular activities at KC and St Andrew High School have clearly not been marginalised by a disproportionate focus on academics.

National and regional honours gained by KC in sports and diverse accolades to St Andrew High School, especially in the performance arts and also in sports, demonstrate a desirable quest by each school to achieve balanced and rounded educational development.

Jamaica and the international community have been immensely better off by the education acquired and the skills dispensed by graduates of century-achievers Kingston College and St Andrew High School for Girls.

The knowledge-power generated by both schools will, hopefully, persist into the distant future.

Neil Richards is an architect and town planner. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.