Graeme College has gone through four distinct periods in its development. In doing so, it has left a trail of history around this town.
Graeme College has gone through four distinct periods in its development. In doing so, it has left a trail of history around this town.
The first of these lasted from 1873 to 1897 when under the name of the Public (Undenominational) School it occupied the Drostdy Buildings on the present Rhodes University campus.
These buildings had been vacated by the imperial military forces. During the second period (1897 to 1930), the school operated under the name of Grahamstown Boys' High School, or the Victoria Boys' High School. This was to a certain extent a contradiction.
A characteristic of the time was that a number of “branches” operated under the boys' school umbrella. There was an elementary branch as well as a girls' branch and photographs from the time show that matriculation classes usually included a number of girls.
It was a period of adaptation and consolidation: schools now fell under school boards and were no longer so dependent on the unselfish championship of individuals such as Judge Smith and John Edwin Wood for their survival in an often unsupportive environment.
The school's role in the educational scene also became better defined. The third period (1931 to 1974) began with the school reverting to its initial status as a boys-only institution and with the adoption of the name, Graeme College. It included the difficult years of the Second World War, the return to normality under difficult financial circumstances which followed and growing excitement which accompanied the anticipation of the move to a new site in Somerset Heights.
The fourth period (1975 to present) started with the move to the present site. It has seen the school making great progress as a provider of quality education against the exciting political normalisation of South African society.
“Old” Grant House
The “old” Grant House in Donkin Street lives on as an annex to the Johan Carinus Art Centre. The Education Department accepted a tender of £7 432 and construction started in November 1928.
The building was occupied on 8 October 1929 after its formal opening by JC Rae. His persistent badgering of the Department was recognised as the main reason for progress made in the provision of Grant House. This building went through numerous renovations and provided a home for hundreds of boys until Graeme College moved across town in 1975.
Graeme College (Templeton Drive)
The site in Somerset Heights was bought in 1964. It took a further 11 years before the move was finally made. Graeme College acquired modern premises which fitted into its pattern of progress and development. The campus has a pleasant location on the edge of town, in a modern residential suburb, and looks set to provide an environment in which the school can continue to thrive for the foreseeable future.
