Queen's College Boys' High School
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 a junior side, Queen's College Boys' Primary School, which was established on 15 November 1957 – a year before it celebrated its 100th birthday.
| Queen's College | |
|---|---|
 Queen's College school crest | |
| Address | |
| |
16 Berry Street, Toptown , | |
| Coordinates | 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 | Mike Boy (1982 - 2020) |
| 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 |
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.
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.
Headmasters
List of headmasters of Queen's College are in brackets.
- Mr. CE Ham (1858–1864)
- Mr. F 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 2 hostels, Whitson House and Connaught House. Whitson enrolls students in Grades 8–9 and Connaught Grades 10–12. The hostels are referred to as Beswick, their house name. [6]
Sports & Cultural Programmes
Sports
The most important sports fields are the Queen’s College Victoria Recreation Grounds & the Chris Harker Astro.[7]
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
Rugby & Cricket
| Name & Surname | Year Matriculated | Notable work | 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 | Notable work | 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
- "This list with 200 of South Africa's oldest schools may surprise you". Parent. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- 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".
- "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.