As-Salam College (English Mission College), Cairo

English Mission College was an Episcopalian missionary School located in the province of Heliopolis in Cairo, Egypt.

History

The School was established on April 24, 1936. It is considered one of the largest schools in Heliopolis.Its earlier premises was located in fagallah,until the Egyptian authorities offered a piece of land in Heliopolis.As a courtesy, the school administration decided to accept Egyptian students. It is divided into a kindergarten,a primary stage school which is co-educational, two separate schools for each gender during preparatory and secondary stages with a garden and a large garage for buses.

In 1953, the name was changed to Episcopal Mission College, during this period, students took three days weekend; Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In the early sixties, the school name was changed into As-salam College by the Egyptian Ministry of Education.

Below are parts of the booklet " Foundation Stones" published on the 25th anniversary of the school 1924-1949 from its humble beginning of three classrooms and twenty two students in Faggala to the massive institution it was in Qubba as most of us knew it. It is an invaluable piece of history that we are sharing here:

FOUNDATION STONES CHAPTER ONE

In the year 1922 Rev and Mrs Martin and Miss Constance Oliver first arrived in Cairo with the object of doing missionary work in the city. They started a Sunday School to which at first 6 or 8 children came and others followed. Before long ...the parents of these children were asking them : "How is it that there is no protestant day school here for our children"? Rev and Mrs Martin at once realised the great need and began praying about it and to seek God's will. Mrs Martin formed a sewing party from among the people who had made this request; and it was decided to sell the garments made and to put the money towards the school ! Bishop L .H. Llewllyn got to hear about it this and said " Come round to my garden, and we will have a sale. The organisers anticipated a sum of $50 to be made though their faith grew dim as Cairo on the day was hit by a dust storm and were afraid no people would come, but inspite of the small numbers in the sale they collected $150. This was ear marked for the school fund. The next step took place about two month later when a French lady who taught Rev and Mrs Martin French said : "I hear that you missionaries are thinking of starting a school, two friends of mine have been running a small school and lost money and are keen to sell. The Rev went to inspect the school, it had five rooms and situated at the back of a very old building in a most dilapidated condition; moreso underneath there was a printing press, in front a soap factory and at the back was a distillery and dumping ground for old bottles. It seemed hardly a place for a missionary school yet Rev Martin felt the offer could not be turned down without prayer. So earnest prayer was made and the owners were asked how much they wanted for building and furniture. Imagine the surprise when the answer was $150 ! the exact amount from the sale of the garments. In August, 1924 the money was paid over and the three missionaries walked into the school due to open in six weeks ! a cable was sent to the headquarters of English missionary saying they had taken the school and needed teachers, could they sent any from England the answer was sorry, so they asked for money to start the school again the reply was Sorry. It seemed a hopeless situation no teachers and no money ..Rev and Mrs Martin were due to go on holiday to Cyprus and with the situation on hand seriously thought of canceling it but on second thoughts did not. In Cyprus a government official met them and said : I understand you come from Egypt., have you a job there for a young lady ? Well, what can she do ? She is a teacher was the reply. Rev Martin interviewed the young lady wow she was willing to teach but was not sure about the missionary part of the work.. here was a problem, hesitantly they took her back with them to Cairo and in no time she was" born again from above" (John 3.7 ). and dedicated her life to the missionary .The next answer to their prayer was a lady and gentleman who had been in charge of a school in Constantinople who came and offered their services freely and were accepted with thanks giving. Miss Constance had written these impressions on that first morning, September 15, 1924 as follows : " In the beginning , God.... Truly and reverently .these words sum up the beginning of ENGLISH MISSION COLLEGE.

FOUNDATION STONES CHAPTER TWO

They all believed with certainty and with a lot of evidences that this great work, its planning and guiding in every detail was God's gift to them, leading up to the wonderful first day when the school opened ...with twenty two pupils. After they took down the names and addresses of the children, school opened with the hymn " I need thee in every hour" and a word of prayer dedicating the school to God. Eight of the twenty two children were for kindergarten section, the other children never held a pencil and none of them knew a word of English and all were taught in one class. Day by day the number grew and at the end of three months there were seventy all together and it was soon possible to divide them into more classes. One outstanding event was that a young Russian lady Mlle Olga later known as Mme Chafiroff applied for the post as a French teacher. With her training at the Sorbonne she was at once accepted and has been on the EMC staff for a long time. The first Bible stories were told in rather faulty French until the children knew enough English to follow a simple story illustrated with pictures and actions, and soon the children learned to love the choruses!. There were many amusing but exhausting incidents in those days, for example the first drill lessons when trying to teach the children some simple orders in English but still not knowing how they should respond, it was like the blind leading the blind. To see the smart EMC buses now circulating the town gives no idea of the difficulties and adventures of the bus duty in the early days. The first car a" Sunbeam" was given by a kind friend and did valiant services but as it advanced in age it took a strong dislike to Shubra Bridge and stopped weekly half way over it in the midst of much traffic. No amount of coaxing would persuade it to finish the journey. At one time when this car was out of order, a friend who was touring the world in his own home made car offered to help us out. He arrived next morning but what a car! There were no seats, the teacher had a cushion on the floor and the back of the car had no door so the children had to be lifted over, it was certainly a life of adventure. It was no doubt that from the beginning all the children loved the school and as the bus drove off they frantically waved and calling out "School tomorrow !

FOUNDATION STONES CHAPTER THREE

Within a year the number of children had risen to a hundred and by 1926 it was felt that it was necessary to establish a Boys school as well as the Girl's school. Mr. Coleman was the first headmaster and Mr. Baily was assistant master. They started the year with 26 boys and by the end of the year there were 38 and began the next school year with over 70. Mr. Postgate arrived to join the staff, he became second master and for the following seven years they worked together and always prayed before discussing any school matters. New activities were introduced like swimming and basket ball and what enthusiasm there was over the basket ball matches, and how the spectators used to throw their caps in the air in the excitement! Once a week there was a scripture Union meetings were times of great opportunity for the boys; on this subject Mr. Coleman writes:" One hoped that the messages various speakers gave went home to the heart of the boys. I am sure there are some who look back to their time at the EMC with feelings of gratitude especially because of the spiritual blessings they received while they were there. May God's rich blessings rest on all who teach and all who learn at the EMC". The school had 29 different nationalities and all religions. " Well and when is the next foundation stone to be laid" For some years this was Bishop Gwynne's customary greeting whenever he met Rev Martin. A series of steps forward were taken in rapid succession between the years 1931 and 1937. By 1931 the Faggala schools consisted of girls section and a boys section with hostel accommodation over them for the missionary staff, and a kindergarten of several rooms, a hall and a church building into which the old soap factory had been transformed. The landlords of this property now came to say they were anxious to sell it instead of renting it as hitherto; they asked for the sum of LE 35,000. They consented to wait for three years in case the EMC would be able to find this sum and three years rent was paid in advance in order to secure the tenancy. Rev Martin made the need of this thirty five pounds known in England and elsewhere; generous gifts were given towards the purchase of this or some other property. At the same time a search was made here and there to see if any other premises or building land were available. At the end of the three years the sum of eleven thousand pounds sterling was in hand; but this was far short of the required sum. Once more prayer was offered to God. Just after this prayer meeting a telephone message was received saying that some property was for sale just outside Cairo and you guessed it

FOUNDATION STONES CHAPTER FOUR

Ref and Mrs. Martin went to see it and found a magnificent place in Qubba Palace district, which was then very little built over but quite easily accessible from town by metro not then so crowded as nowadays. The property consisted of five acres of well kept grounds with a large house standing upon it. The official value is said to have given it as his opinion that the palace was worth LE 40,000; but the owner was in financial difficulties and anxious to sell as quickly as possible. After the first visit nothing was done for a week as it was felt the price would certainly be beyond our means. Then some members of the staff found their way out to see the property and noticed that trees were already being cut down upon it. They were told the that the place will be divided into small lots and sold for building. On their return, these members of staff told this to the rest, who were again about to meet for prayer. So guidance was sought as to whether or no further steps should be taken. As a result Ref Martin went the next morning to make more inquires. A Syrian friend of the EMC kindly acted as go-between and came back to report that the place could be ours for eleven thousand English pounds ! which is the exact amount sent to them from England and gifts to the school. A few days later all the staff drove out in a school bus to see the place. As the soft spring twilight fell, they wandered round the gardens filled with the sweet scented of the flowers antirrhinums and stock!. It seemed like a fairy tale ! Shady trees, green grass and masses of flowers a far cry from the hot hard streets of Faggala. All were laughing and joking and yet deeply conscious of the wonder of God's provision for them. When the eleven thousands English pounds came to be change into Egyptian money. Moreover, a considerable sum was found to be due to the Egyptian government on account of the purchase they were about nine hundred pounds short of the full sum. This was still the case two days before the purchase money had to be handed over. It was then that the cheque arrived which is alluded elsewhere and which was at first thought to be for ten Egyptian pounds and was then found to be for one thousand English pounds ! enough to clear the full amount ! Thus the property became theirs from the Hand of the Lord by His servants. Bishop Gwynne came to see it and could only say "This indeed is a gift from God" repeatedly . It was decided that in the following autumn a preparatory school should be started in the new premises to prepare for the transfer of the original schools as soon as buildings had been put up for them. They meanwhile journeyed to and fro either in Rev Martin's car or in a school bus with such breakables as records, marble pots etc. The first piece of furniture was the grand piano. The Rev played and they all sang "Praise the Lord the king... of heaven". In the afternoon and with hard garden brooms scrubbing and cleaning the tiles in the swimming pool till it was possible to fill it with water and enjoy a dip. We all remember enjoying a dip too.

FOUNDATION STONES CHAPTER FIVE During the following winter an impressive public opening of the of the new property with VIP, parents and friends of the school and Sir Percy Lorraine the High Commissioner planted a tree in the grounds to mark the occasion. As the boys school at Faggala was the most crowded it was decided to put up their building first on the new ground but soon it became evident that the cost would be less in the long run if both boys and girls went up together. Bishop Gwynne told them that a chance meeting between Mr. Postgate and an expert on school buildings on the top of a hill on Dartmoor led to the first production of the first edition of the plans. These were afterwards considerably modified before being put into effect. The resulting buildings were at the time of their construction among the most modern and best planned in Egypt. The Foundation Stones of the two buildings were laid by Sir Arthur and Lady Booth at an impressive ceremony on April 24, 1936. On each foundation stone the words of the school motto are carved "The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". The healthier surroundings together with better equipment, better morale together with the good design of he school with its open, airy class rooms and corridors had a very marked effect for the good. It became possible to develop proper and efficient syllabuses and organisation and to take on advanced work in certain departments and a dining room was built at one end of the girl's school. By the summer of 1938 they took possession of the new premises. During the first year at Qubba, the boys school had as close neighbours a building of, in 1940 through a generous grant from the British Council and the property was bought, admittedly with difficulty, as there appeared to be different people who claimed ownership! . The building proved to be most valuable in providing extra classrooms and a biology laboratory. In 1945 a square plot adjoining to the girl's school was secured hence increasing the space available for games. The aim of the school has always aimed at satisfying the desire of many in the country for the benefits of a sound education on English lines. Since 1930 candidates have been presented annually for first the Cambridge and then Oxford. Success and rapid expansion from college to the institution it grown to be based on education built upon a living Christian foundation was the aim of its founder and its staff

THE FOUNDATION STONES CHAPTER SIX

The house system, as known in schools in England, has been a feature of the EMC almost from the beginning, school prefects also added much to the life and welfare of the community. Sports day when trophies a...re contested for by individuals and more particularly by the different houses was a great event in the school year as the annual Speech Days and Prize distributions. Throughout the years it has been a constant desire of all the EMC to keep in touch with those who have passed on beyond the school. There was the Old Girl's Association as well as the Old Boys Association and the school gave a garden party which was well attended. The school opened in 1924 with the sum of L.E 150 to its credit. the first prospectus available, which is undated and belongs to a very early period mention fees of Pt 50 or ten pounds a month for juniors and one pound a month for older students !( those were the days when a piaster bought a handful of oranges or eggs). Many people believed that the EMC received financial support from the British government. This has never been the case. A comparatively small but much appreciated grant from England is received annually but not from the government. Beyond this the college had to depend on its fees and gifts in Egypt and all over the world! Some heartwarming gifts of people in England like one sent the proceeds of the sale of her home made jam, another the value of her new winter coat and hat. Others gave gifts in kind such as school cups and prizes; many gave the most precious gift of their prayers. Who can count the value of all these offerings! TWENTY YEARS on the school strived on with great success and in 1948 a Private school Bill became law and all schools were therefore a subject of inspection by the ministry, and particular attention is to be paid to the teachings of Arabic and Arabic culture. One close, however caused considerable difficulty in the school, this was that no child may be taught any other religion than his or her own even with parents consent. The English Mission College has never sought to hide the fact that it is a Christian foundation, and believes that it is as such that it has its contribution to make to life in Egypt. When non-Christians parents have enrolled their children they have been informed that morning assembly and bible lessons are part of the school curriculum and all pupils are expected are expected to attend. If the fruit of high moral tone is to be expected, there must be a root of Christian teaching from which these ideas spring directly or in directly. But the present law compels the exclusion of all not legally recognised as Christians. The school found itself in an exceedingly difficult position with their responsibility to guard the future of the school and the new law. Mr. Butcher the school principle wrote to inform parents confirming the Christian foundation of the school and asking parents of non-Christians pupils to make other arrangements after the end of the term. As a result the school lost 100 students which caused a dent in the finances and the school fees went up considerably.

The Finale THE FOUNDATION STONES CHAPTER SEVEN Enquires among parents and former pupils of school who are in some ways in a better position to judge than those who are on the staff seem to show that it is for the building of Christian character that th...e EMC has been chiefly valued in the pass. This includes, among much else, those virtues of honesty, reliability and consideration for others of which the world stands ever in need. Those on the staff of the school echo the words of the apostle John: No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the Truth. Rev Albert Charles Martin who with his wife had founded the EMC and who piloted it through those years with unfailing faith and zeal died in August 1945 after a short illness during his holiday in Cyprus. One proof of the value of his work is that it being carried on with same basic idea by those who were trained under him. Mrs. Martin remained in school as the headmistress for the Girl's school for nearly twenty years. I will leave you with Mrs. Lomas the headmistress of the preparatory school saying: “The time the children spend in preparatory school is essentially a time of sowing the seed of the Word of God. Pray that the sowing may be so well done, that it may yield an abundant harvest in the future. They have laid the foundations and I hope we are the living stones.

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