CMS Grammar School, Lagos

CMS Grammar School, Lagos
Nisi Dominus Frustra
Without God we labor in vain
Address
St. Finbarr's College Road, Bariga
Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Information
School type Secondary
Established 6 June 1859 (1859-06-06)
Principal Tunde Oduwole

The CMS Grammar School in the Bariga district of Lagos is the oldest secondary school in Nigeria, founded on 6 June 1859 by the Church Missionary Society. For decades it was the main source of African clergymen and administrators in the Lagos Colony.[1]

Contents

Foundation

The first Anglican Missionaries arrived in Lagos from Sierra Leone in 1842, and established the Yoruba Mission. They founded the school in 1859 with the assistance of local merchants and traders. The CMS Grammar School in Freetown, founded in 1848, served as a model. The school began with six students boarding in a small, single story building called the 'Cotton House' at Broad Street. The first pupils were destined to be clergymen.[1] The curriculum included English, Logic, Greek, Arithmetic, Geometry, Geography, History, Bible Knowledge and Latin.[2] The first principal of the school was the scholar and theologian Thomas Babington Macaulay, who served until his death in 1879. He was the father of Herbert Macaulay.[3] When the British colony of Lagos was established in 1861, the colonial authorities obtained most of their African clerical and administrative staff from the school.[1]

Principals

  • Thomas Babington Macaulay 1859–1879
  • Isaac Oluwole 1881–1893
  • Joseph Suberu Fanimokun 1896
  • F. Watherton 1928–1932
  • J. Lewis −1944
  • S.I. Kale 1944–1950
  • B.A. Adelaja 1950–1970
  • I.A. Olowu 1972
  • B.A. Nigwo
  • J.B.A. Edema −1997
  • T.O. Jemilugba – 1997–2001
  • J.O. Onayinka – 2001–2006
  • Venerable Tunde Oduwole -2006- till date

Alumni

Some notable alumni:

References

  1. ^ a b c "School History". Old Grammarians Society. http://www.cms-ogs.org/About/history.html. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
  2. ^ Ambassador Dapo Fafowora (4/06/2009). "150 years of the CMS Grammar School, Lagos". The Nation (Nigeria). http://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/5611/1/150-years-of-the-CMS-Grammar-School-Lagos/Page1.html. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
  3. ^ "Brief History of CMS Grammar School". CMS Grammar School. http://cmsgrammarschool.com/history.php. Retrieved 2011-05-21.