| Calabar High School | |
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The Utmost for the Highest
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| Address | |
| 61 Red Hills Road Kingston, Jamaica Calabar High School
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| Information | |
| Established | 1912 |
| School Colour(s) | Green and Black |
Calabar High School is an all-male, secondary school in Kingston, Jamaica. It was established by the Jamaica Baptist Union in 1912 for the children of Baptist ministers and the children of the poor blacks and was named after the former slave port Calabar, now in Nigeria. Today, it is one of most respected learning institutions in the country , producing at least five Rhodes Scholars.
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In 1839, William Knibb, Thomas Burchell and James Phillippo, the three leading English Baptist missionaries working in Jamaica, moved for the creation of a college for training native Baptist ministers. Out of this effort, Calabar Theological College came into being in 1843 and was first sited in the little village of Calabar, near Rio Bueno, in Trelawny Parish. The town Calabar was named by the Spanish and has no ties with the Nigerian town of Calabar and its people.
In 1868, Calabar College was removed to East Queen Street, Kingston, where a "normal" school for training teachers and a high school for boys were added. Shortly afterwards, the high school was closed and the teacher-training activities ceased, leaving the practising school—now Calabar All-Age on Sutton Street—and the theological college, which was relocated at Studley Park (on Slipe Pen Road) in 1904.
At the beginning of the 1900s, there were very few high schools in existence to educate the sons of the working class and the rising middle class. It was to meet this need that, in September 1912, through the instrumentality of the Revs. Ernest Price and David Davidson—Principal and Tutor, respectively, of Calabar Theological College—Calabar High School came into existence under the joint sponsorship of the Baptist Missionary Society of London and the Jamaica Baptist Union.
The high school opened September 12, 1912 with 26 boys and the foundation was firmly laid in the Christian tradition. Rev. Price was the first Headmaster. Within a year enrolment had reached 80 and the school had received government recognition. An early benefactor was Miss Elizabeth Purscell who, in 1919, bequeathed the adjoining property, on Studley Park Road, in trust for the school. The school offered boarding facilities on nearby premises—The Hostel—to facilitate boys attending from outside the Corporate Area of Kingston.
In 1952, Calabar Theological College and Calabar High School moved from their location at Studley Park to Red Hills Road, where 60 acres (240,000 m2) of land (then called "Industry Pen") had been purchased for the re-siting of both institutions. At the time, this was a thinly populated, undeveloped area and many people thought the move unwise. The new school was built to house 350 boys but before long extensions became necessary. Boarding facilities were provided up to 1970. When boarding ceased, dormitories were subsequently converted to workshops.
In 1967 the Theological College moved to Mona as a part of the United Theological College of the West Indies and the High School took over the vacated space. This is the section of the premises which the boys now call "Long Island."
At about this time a portion of the Calabar lands was sold, to be used for commercial and residential development. As a result of the massive increase in population in this section of the city the School has grown by leaps and bounds. A privately-run Extension School was added in 1971.
In 1978, the School adopted a shift system incorporating the day and extension schools, at the request of the Ministry of Education. There are presently over 1600 students on roll with eight forms in each year group between grades 7 and 11, and four forms in grades 12 and 13 (sixth form).
Calabar High School was renowned almost from the start. It established a reputation for scholarship which has been maintained over the years, as seen in the large number of major scholarships—such as the Jamaica and Rhodes Scholarships—which have been awarded to Calabar students. The school pioneered in the teaching of science, Spanish and agriculture. Sports, particularly athletics, have always been important and the Inter-Schools’ Athletics Championships (“Champs”) Trophy has been won 21 times since 1930.
One major accomplishment is in the Schools' Challenge Quiz, where Calabar is one of the winningest schools in the history of the competition. Calabar is the only school to win the competition three years in a row, and has been to the most finals in one decade, five (2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007).
The School's motto is "The Utmost for the Highest".
The official school colours are Green and Black.
The school's mascot is a roaring Lion, a homage to the school being named after the Nigeria city and former slave port of the same name.
In sports the school dominates all major sporting areas including Track & Field, Football, Basketball, Cricket, Badminton, and Rugby. Calabar was the first school in Jamaica to have a swimming pool and won the inter-schools swimming competition repeatedly for many years. When the school was relocated to Red Hills Road in 1953, the boys helped to construct the new pool there. At the Annual Boys and Girls Athletics Championships, the competition for which the school is most famous, Calabar is the only boys school to have won Champs titles in every decade since the 1930s.
In 2008, the school won its second consecutive ISSA all-island Boys Athletics Championships title (it's 21st overall).
In 2008, the school's Rugby Union team also created history by placing for the first time a team in the finals of all four competitions entered. The boys won the Under-19 15-a-side competition for the second time in school's history and were runners-up in the under 16 version. Ryan Grant captain of the under-19 was named the competition's MVP. The team was coached by old boys Sheldon Phillips and Romeo Monteith with Nesta Dawkins as manager.
The tradition of excellence in Rugby Football continued, as the school became the first to win the U19 15s championship 3 consecutive years (2008–2010). The school also won the inaugural U16 Rugby League championship in 2009.
Calabar is the only school to have won the popular School's Challenge Quiz on three consecutive occasions.
Calabar has produced a number of prominent members of Jamaican society including:
||Mrs Vilma Baugh ||(nee Douglas)|| - Biology || |- Rev. Azariah McKenzie - Bible Knowledge Rev. Dr. Horace Russell - Bible Knowledge Mr Richard Morris - Spanish (Discipline) Mr Winston Davis - Spanish Ms Faye Ennevor - Music Mr Uriel Aldridge - Latin Mrs Christine Jellyman - Latin Ms Zay Ricketts - History
| From | To | Name | Notes |
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| 1912 | Rev. Ernest Price | ||
| 1972 | 1980 | Arthur J Edgar | |
| 1980 | 1985 | Roy Atkinson | Teacher 1962-1980 |
| 1985 | 1995 | Joseph Earle | Vice Principal 1976 -1977 |
| 1996 | 2002 | Lloyd Brian | |
| 2002 | present | Lincoln Thaxter |
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