Queen's College (South Africa)

Queen's College is situated at the foot of the Stormberg Mountains in the Eastern Cape town of Queenstown. Established in 1858, it is the oldest school on the Border.

Brief History

Mr. CE Ham set up a private school for boys, the Prospect House Academy. In 1858 it was taken over by the state as the Queenstown District School. That year is taken as the foundation date for Queen's College. Today, all that remains of Mr. Ham's original school is the lectern on the stage of the Memorial Hall (the present school hall). It was made out of a yellow wood beam salvaged from the old school building when it was demolished in 1949.

In 1867, Frederick Beswick opened a private school in the town and then the principal of a conglomerate of schools called Queenstown Boys' Public School, whose headmaster he remained for 32 years. He really set education on a sound footing in Queenstown. His son, Alan, became the first Old Queenian to play rugby for South Africa. In 1910 the school was officially named Queen's College.

The school continued to grow in size and stature and under Mr. A Parry Davies, who was headmaster from 1930 to 1940, Queen's began to develop a distinctive character and spirit. The school's prowess in the academic, sporting and cultural spheres became known far and wide and it began to attract pupils from all over South Africa and as far afield as Zimbabwe.

The core of the old stone school buildings (dating back to 1897) was retained when a new purpose designed modern school complex was built in 1973. Many valuable reminders of the school's debt to the past are housed in the Queen's College Museum in the "Old School", which was itself declared a historical monument in 1980.

Student Body

Queen's College boasts a diverse student body, having made the transition from segregated schooling as early as 1992.

The college is headed by their recently appointed Headmaster, Mr. Brendan Grant, who hails as the former deputy headmaster of Graeme College in Grahamstown. Forming an important liaison between Staff and Student Body is the Prefect Body, a democratically appointed group of students who help maintain order and discipline in the school. Fourteen Prefects are selected from the Grade 12 year group and have traditionally been nicknamed "College Cops". A second tier of leadership has recently been established and is known as the School Monitors.

Boarding Facilities

Queen's College currently has three boarding houses in operation, namely Connaught House, Whitson House and Athlone House.

• Athlone House is run by Mr and Mrs Butler and only houses Grade 8 pupils. The smaller group enables the Butler's to condition the boys' for boarding life and also helps to create a healthy family atmosphere or "gees".
• Connaught House is run by Mr and Mrs Osborn and houses Grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 pupils. It is the "youngest" of the 3 hostels currently in use and is home to the school's impressive gym.
• Whitson House is run by Mr Pearson and Mrs Henson and also houses Grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 pupils. It has recently been designated as a boarding house for the son's of Old Queenians. This designation has awakened a sleeping giant as many Old Queenians have now sent their sons back to their alma mater.
• De Vos Malan House has stood empty for some time, but is ready for use should the boarding numbers increase. There are currently 125 boarders at Queen's College and that number is growing every year.

Facilities

Queen's College boasts some of the finest sporting facilities in South Africa. These include

• 4 Full sized cricket fields
• 8 Turf wickets for practices
• 3 Indoor cricket nets
• 2 Squash courts
• 7 Rugby fields (Including a 6000 seater Grandstand, complete with 8 changing rooms, at the Victoria Recreation Ground)
• 400m Cinder athletes track
• 1 Floodlit AstroTurf
• 50m Swimming pool
• Water-polo pool
• A fully functioning gym, complete with a full-time Biokineticist.

Hospitality

In recent years the College has hosted a number of successful sports festivals. Some notable successors include:

• The Triangular Athletics meeting (Contested between Queen's College, Selborne and Dale)
• The Hirsch Shield (Contested between the top 10 Athletics Schools in the Eastern Cape)
• The Cape Schools Cricket Week
• The Grant Khomo U16 Rugby Week
• The annual TWIZZA Easter Sport Festival

Notable alumni

• Allan Beswick, Springbok Rugby
• Jimmy White, Springbok Rugby
• Dick Muir, Springbok Rugby Player, Springbok Assistant Coach 2008–Present
• Kaya Malotana, Springbok Rugby
• Robbie Kempson, Springbok Rugby
• Owen Lentz, American Rugby
• Carlo Del Fava, Italian Rugby
• Lionel Cronjé, South Africa U20 Player of the year 2009
• S'bura Sithole, South African Sevens 2010–Present
• Daryll John Cullinan, South African Cricketer
• Tony Greig, English Cricketer
• Ian Greig, English Cricketer
• Justin Kemp, South African Cricketer
• Glen Dell, Advanced World Aerobatic Champion in 2004
• Norman Walsh, Rhodesian and Zimbabwean air marshal
• Ken McEwan, Eastern Province and Essex cricketer

Coordinates: 31°53′21.20″S 26°52′36.71″E / 31.8892222°S 26.8768639°E / -31.8892222; 26.8768639