Denomination Catholic Founder Fr. Marc Barthelemy SJ Mascot Dragon | Rector Fr. Joe Arimoso SJ Phone +263 4 704 064 Founded 1896 Colors White, Red | |
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Established 1896; 121 years ago (1896) Similar Prince Edward School, Arundel School, Dominican Convent School, Hartmann House Primary S, Gateway High School | ||
St George's College, is a private Catholic boys high school in Harare, Zimbabwe. The school is located in a Harare suburb, Alexandra Park. The land was donated to the Jesuits. This led to the relocation of the school site from Bulawayo to Harare. This was the beginning of Saint George's College. On the same site, a preparatory primary school was established called Hartmann House. This site is next to the official Zimbabwe State House, and the official president's house called Zimbabwe House. The school motto is Ex Fide Fiducia, a Latin phrase meaning "From Faith Comes Confidence".
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St. Michael's Preparatory School (Grades 1–3) in Borrowdale often starts a pupil's journey to St. George's. Boys attend kindergarten there before joining Hartmann House, where they complete (Grades 4–7).
St George's College was ranked 5th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility. St George's College was also ranked as one of the Top 10 High Schools in Zimbabwe in 2014.
St George's College is a member of the Association of Trust Schools (ATS). The Headmaster is a member of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe (CHISZ) and an international member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC).
History
The school was founded in 1896 by a French Jesuit, Father Marc Barthélemy, who opened the doors to a small corrugated-iron, two-windowed hut to admit the first six pupils to Bulawayo Boys' School in Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia). In 1898 a more permanent building was erected, and in December of that year, at the first prize-giving, the school assumed the title St. George's Boys' Public School. In 1899, Fr. Francis Johanny joined the staff and set up the Cadet Corp. Three years later Fr. Thomas Gardner the first English Jesuit arrived. In the same year, 1902, the first Rhodes Scholarships were awarded in Rhodesia, and they went to St. George's boys Albert Bisset and Woodford Gilbert. In 1912 the first permanent buildings were completed and opened by Earl Grey.
St. George's College moved to Salisbury (now Harare) in 1926. The architect of the buildings was Fr. Louis Leboeuf and the main builder was Br. John Conway, SJ. The Beit Hall was opened in 1935 by Sir Robert Stanley. In 1940 the library was built, then the 'Monastery' and later the 'Priory'. In 1955, the new Dormitory Wing and Laboratories were built, and in 1973 the permanent Chapel was erected.
In the years before Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, the country's government schools were segregated, but St George's, as a private school, was allowed a limited black intake and was multiracial. It had admitted its first black pupil in 1963.
Academics
Saint George's College is a selective School: an entrance examination must be taken to enter Form One, even by students from Hartmann House next door. "A" grades at Ordinary Level are necessary to enter the Lower Sixth Form, with those already at the College not exempt from this requirement. Religious Education is compulsory throughout the six years.
The College follows the Cambridge International Examinations syllabus at "O" level and "A" level.
The house system
The school has a family-oriented approach to academic and extracurricular studies with every student belonging to a house. There are four houses, identified by colour and named after prominent Jesuits who were among the founding fathers of the school in Bulawayo:
The house system started in 1938 with three houses, Barthelemy, Gardner, and Hartmann. Johanny was created in 1983, with the increasing number of students. Each boy inherits the house of his previous relatives and 'new' boys are allocated on a random basis.
The Crest
The Grant of Arms was made by the Royal College of Heralds on 19 October 1931 and aimed to recognise three outstanding characteristics:
The motto on the scroll means "From Faith Comes Confidence".
Alumni
In 1921, the Old Georgian's Association was formed; its first president was Mr. D. Blackbeard. Alumni, known as (Old Georgians), include Rhodes Scholars who attended Oxford University, Cambridge University, and Ivy League universities. Alumni who donned the Red Blazer, achieving the difficult task of attending St. Michael's, Hartmann House and St. George's College, are known as Old Michaelians (Reds).
Publications
The Chronicle has been published every year since 1933, with the exception of a few years during the Second World War. In 1996, to mark the 100th anniversary of the College, a book by Terence McCarthy was published – Men For Others.