Bernard Mizeki College is an O Level and A level Independent School for boys only boarding school situated in Marondera, Zimbabwe approximately 70 km east of the capital Harare. It was founded in memory of Bernard Mizeki an African martyr who died in the Marondera area.The School was founded by Private Individuals of the Anglican Church.
The first school established in Marondera was the Anglican Mission School at St Bernard’s Mission, some 13 kilometres from Marondera Town, in 1891. Since then there has been a strong Anglican influence on the schools of Marondera. This mission continued for 70 years until it grew into something larger as explained in this account.
It had long been the ideal of Canon Robert Grinham to see the existence schools for Africans whose facilities equaled or approximated to those of Ruzawi, Springvale and Peterhouse. To this end he devoted his energies after his retirement from Springvale and a steering committee of interested persons was found under the chairmanship of the Bishop of Mashonaland, Bishop Paget. With the consent of the trustees of the Diocese of Mashonaland, the land belonging to and adjacent to St Bernard’s Mission was taken over, and in 1961 there Opened Bernard Mizeki College- named after the African catechist who was martyred nearby Chief Mangwende’s kraal in 1896- under the headmastership of P.H. Canham, whilst the old central Primary School of the mission became Bernard Mizeki School under the headmastership of G.F. Coney. The College is located at 18° 6'9.10"S and 31°38'43.97"E
The two schools (the college for secondary education, the school for primary) were under the same Board of Governors. The schools were heavily aided by the Ministry of African Education of Southern Rhodesia Government. Planned expansion was slowed down for a time by the lack of financial Support, but by 1963 the number of pupils reached 180 in the College and 140 in the school.
African Parish work was done by Reverend E. Crane who ran the mission and school at St Bernard’s – now Bernard Mizeki College and the English Parish work was run by Canon Robert Grinham from Ruzawi School.
Taken from: Marandellas Golden Jubilee 1913-1963