Queen's College Boys' High School
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Queen's College | |
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![]() Queen's College school crest | |
Address | |
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16 Berry Street, Toptown , | |
Coordinates | 31°53′23″S 26°52′35″E / 31.8898°S 26.8765°ECoordinates: 31°53′23″S 26°52′35″E / 31.8898°S 26.8765°E |
Information | |
Former name | Prospect House Academy, Public School for Boys, Queenstown Grammar School |
Type | All-boys public School |
Motto | Esse Quam Videri (To be, rather than to seem to be) |
Established | 21 April 1858 |
Founder | Mr. CE Ham |
Status | Government subsidised, fee paying public school |
Sister school | Queenstown Girls' High School |
School district | Chris Hani West District |
Oversight | School Governing Body |
Chairman | Allister van Schoor (2018 | - present)
Headmaster | Janse van der Ryst (1 January 2018 | - present)
Senior Deputy Headmaster | Pierre Jacobs (2021 | - present; Acting)
Grades | 8–12 |
Gender | Male |
Number of students | 575 boys |
Language | English |
Schedule | 07:30 - 14:00 |
Campus | Urban Campus |
Houses | Beswick [Boarders] Mallet [Day Boys] |
Colour(s) | Black Old Gold White |
Song | The College Song & Queen's Forever |
Sports | Athletics Basketball Cricket Cross country Football Golf Hockey Rugby Squash Swimming Tennis Water polo |
Rival | Dale College Selborne College |
Accreditation | Eastern Cape Department of Education |
Newspaper | Queen's Quote |
Yearbook | The Queen's Quire |
Affiliations | International Boys' School Coalition, Queenstown Education Foundation, Four Schools One Family |
Website | www |
Queen's College, or simply 'QC', is a fee-paying public school for boys situated in the town of Komani. Established in 1858 first as Prospect House Academy,[1] it is the oldest school in the Border region and among the 100 oldest schools in South Africa.[1] The college has an associated primary school, Queen's College Boys' Primary School, which was established on 15 November 1957.
History[]
Queen's College started as Prospect House Academy when Mr C.E Ham first opened the doors to his school on 21 April 1858 at 6 Shepstone Street in Queenstown. The school was situated in an outbuilding on the property and consisted of a single room with a mud floor and holes in the wall for ventilation. The enrollment had reached 30 boys by 1859 and was also known as the Queenstown District School.[2] It was in receipt of a government grant of £50, backdated to initial opening of the school.[2] From inception the school offered boarding facilities, in the home of Mr Ham, conveniently situated directly across the road from the schoolhouse.[citation needed]
In 1864, a dispute regarding financial support for the school by the district council, led to the abrupt closure of the school by Mr Ham and he ceased teaching in order to open a general store in the town. Boys returning from their holiday in July 1864 discovered that their school house had been let to another tenant and their schoolmaster had become a haberdasher.[3] Public concern was such that a committee was formed, which decides that St Michael's Grammar School should assume the mantle of Prospect House Academy by accepting the status of a government-aided school. The resulting amalgamated school becomes the Public School for Boys and classes are held in a billiard hall.[4]
It was only in 1910 that the school was renamed Queen's College.[citation needed]
Headmasters[]
- Mr. CE Ham (1858–1864)
- Mr. G Elliot (1864–1865)
- Mr. R McCormick (1865–1867)
- Mr. FJ Beswick (1867–1899)
- Mr. B Noaks (1899–1900)
- Mr. GFH Clark (1901–1904)
- Mr. H Wilkinson (1904–1929)
- Mr. A Parry-Davies (1930–1939)
- Mr. HQ Davies (1940–1964)
- Mr. TW Higgs (1965–1973)
- Mr. DH Schroeder (1974–1992)
- Mr. CP Harker (1993–2010)
- Mr. DCP Lovatt (2011–2012)
- Mr. BJ Grant (2013–2017)
- Mr. J van der Ryst (2018–present)
School Facilities[]
- 4 science and biology labs
- Design and Technology facility
- Media centre
- Library
- Music centre
- 4 full sized cricket fields
- 8 turf wickets for practices
- 3 indoor cricket nets
- 2 squash courts
- 7 rugby fields
- 400m Cinder athletes track
- 1 floodlit AstroTurf
- 50m swimming pool
- Water polo pool
- 2 basketball courts
- Gym
- School Hall
- Memorial Hall
Hostels[]
The school has 3 hostels; Whitson House, Athlone House and Connaught House. Whitson enrolls students in Grades 8–9, Connaught Grades 10–12 and Athlone Grades 10 & 12. Athlone was reopened in 2021 after many years of closure. All hostels are referred to as Beswick House, a name taken from the school's 2nd headmaster's last name, Mr Frederic John Beswick (1841–1929).
Whitson House was the first hostel of the school and was built in 1904 and named Connaught House. In 1932, the hostel was closed leading to the later opening of hostels Athlone and De Vos Malan in 1939. In 1975, Connaught House was renamed Whitson House after old boy Mr H Whitson. The new Connaught House was built in 1979. Enrollment back then stated; Athlone grade 8, Whitson grades 9-12, De Vos Malan grades 10-12 and Connaught grades 9-12. After a decline in Boarders in the early 2000s most of the hostels were closed and converted into classrooms. Hostels outside campus were sold. [6]
Sports & Cultural Programmes[]
Sports[]
The main sports fields are the Queen’s College Victoria Recreation Grounds & the Chris Harker Astro where first team matches are played.[7]
- Athletics
- Basketball
- Chess
- Cricket
- Cross country
- Golf
- Hockey
- Rugby
- Soccer
- Squash
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Water polo
Cultural[]
- Adventure Club
- Brass Band
- Marimba Band
- Blood Peer Promotors
- Chess Society
- Choir
- Computer Club
- Debating Society & Public Speaking
- Do It Yourself (DIY)
- Drama
- Driver Training
- Ecowatch
- First Aid Society
- Queen's Gym
- Interact Club
- Library Society
- Photographic Society
- The Queen's Quote
- Representative Council of Learners (RCL)
- Students' Christian Association (SCA)
Notable Old Boys[]
Sport[]
Rugby & Cricket[]
Name & Surname | Year Matriculated | Teams | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Allan Beswick | 1888 | 49th Springbok | [8] |
Jimmy White | 1928 | 217th Springbok | [8] |
Dick Muir | 1982 | 642nd Springbok | [8] |
Robbi Kempson | 1992 | 669th Springbok | [8] |
Kaya Malotana | 1994 | 687th Springbok | [8] |
Owen Lentz | 1998 | American Rugby | |
Carlo del Fava | 1998 | Italian Rugby | |
Rocco Jansen | 2004 | Emerging Springboks Rugby | |
Lionel Cronjé | 2007 | South Africa U20 (2009 Player of the Year) | |
S'bura Sithole | 2008 | South Africa Sevens | |
Allan Dell | 2010 | South Africa U20, Scottish Rugby | |
Andisa Ntsila | 2011 | South Africa 'A' |
Name & Surname | Year Matriculated | Teams | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Ken McEwan | 1970 | Eastern Province and Essex cricketer | |
Daryll John Cullinan | 1984 | South African Test Cricketer | |
Justin Kemp | 1996 | South African Test and limited overs Cricketer | |
Tony Greig | 1965 | English Test Cricketer | |
Ian Greig | 1974 | English Test Cricketer |
Other Sports[]
- Glen Dell, Advanced World Aerobatic Champion in 2004 and Red Bull Air Race competitor (1974)
Business[]
- Allister Sparks, journalist, author and former editor of the Rand Daily Mail (1950)
- Alan Scholefield, journalist and writer (1947)
- Gideon Khobane, CEO of SuperSport[9] (1995)
Politics[]
- Errol K. Moorcroft, Progressive Federal Party and Democratic Party (South Africa) politician, MP for Albany district 1981–1987, 1989–1994 (1956)
Military[]
- John ("Jack") Sherwood Kelly, VC CMG DSO, recipient of the Victoria Cross[10] (also attended Dale College, Selborne College and St. Andrews College)
- Norman Walsh, Rhodesian and Zimbabwean air marshal (1949)
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "This list with 200 of South Africa's oldest schools may surprise you". Parent. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Barry, S. G. (1983). History of Queen's College : 1858–1983. [Queenstown, South Africa]: Mara Communications. pp. 4, 5, 7. ISBN 978-0-620-13397-5. OCLC 22998372.
- ^ Veitch, Neil (2008). Queen's College, 1858–2008 : in this, her honour. [Queenstown, South Africa]. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-620-40438-9. OCLC 1011514036.
- ^ Queenstown, 1824–1994. Holliday, E. W. Queenstown [South Africa]: Queenstown and Frontier Historical Society. 1995. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-620-18933-0. OCLC 34414151.CS1 maint: others (link)
- ^ "School Facilities".
- ^ "Queen's College : Whitson & Connaught House Gallery".
- ^ "QC on Travel Ground".
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Paige to become Springbok No 869. But who were 1-868?". Sport. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "New CEO for SuperSport". Sport. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "KZN September 2017 newsletter - South African Military History Society - Title page". samilitaryhistory.org. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- Schools in the Eastern Cape
- Educational institutions established in 1858
- Boarding schools in South Africa
- 1858 establishments in the British Empire
- Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality