Established 1897 Principal Mr Simon Moore Grades RR - 12 Phone +27 33 386 8304 Motto Laborare est Orare | Locale Suburban Exam board IEB Number of students 500 girls Mascot Eagle Founded 1897 | |
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Address New England Rd, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, 3201, South Africa School types Private school, Boarding school Similar Epworth School, The Wykeham Collegiate, Pietermar Girls' High School, St Nicholas Diocesan School, Maritzburg College Profiles | ||
St. John's Diocesan School for Girls is a private boarding and day school for girls in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
History
It was founded in 1897 by the Society of Sisters of St John the Divine and has an Anglican foundation.
In 1887, Sister Fanny, together with Novices Anna and Margaret (who took their vows soon after they arrived), were sent out to Pietermaritzburg from England to look after and educate orphans. Within months they were running the St Cross Orphanage in Loop Street and had named their little community 'The Society of St John the Divine'.
As the orphanage expanded, the Sisters decided to build a boarding facility to accommodate children who wished to attend school in the town. Thus in 1894 the foundation stone to the convent in Burger Street was laid where the present Medical Centre now exists. Numbers continued to grow and the building next to the convent was acquired for older girls and was named 'St John's School' in 1897. The following year this building became a school for girls from kindergarten to Matric.
In 1913, a site was selected in Scottsville to give "...a freer life . . .more space for playing fields, more accommodation for boarders and better school buildings" and so began the development of the school to what it is today. The original school building, opened in 1915, is now part of the Junior School, the Junior Resource centre being the original school hall.