Education in Grahamstown in the second half of the 19th century tended to divide the population along denominational and economic lines and, with few exceptions, was not altogether of a satisfactory standard. At a public meeting held in 1872 a resolution was moved to the effect that: "It is highly desirable to establish a high class nondenominational school in Grahamstown, with a view to providing an education which is not furnished by any of the present schools." And so in April 1873, with an enrolment of 25 boarders and 45 day boys, under the headmastership of the Rev. Robert Templeton, the Grahamstown Public School opened its doors in the Drostdy Barracks and the Drostdy House, newly vacated by the Colonial military authorities. Both these buildings have since been swallowed up in the Rhodes University campus. The new school grew rapidly and within ten years the enrolment had reached 200. The first candidate for the matriculation examination was entered in 1874, and the school began preparing candidates for the examinations of the University of the Cape of Good Hope. The political troubles at the end of the nineteenth century saw the British Army wanting their buildings back and the school moving to new premises in Beaufort Street in 1898. It occupied this site until moving to its present campus in Somerset Heights in 1974. The site in Beaufort Street has since been renovated and taken over by Victoria Girls' High School. Over the years the name of the school has undergone several changes. During the period in which it offered matriculation classes to young ladies, it was known as Victoria High School, and finally in 1938 it adopted the name "Graeme College".
Current state
The school is divided into a pre-primary, a foundation phase, a junior school and a high school. It consists of approximately 600 boys and 33 teachers. The majority of the boys that attend the school are day scholars. A hundred or so boys populate the hostels of Grant House and Wallace House. Graeme College has four houses: Wiles, Vernal, Nielson and Hutton, each named after previous headmasters of the school.
Academics
The following subjects are taught at Graeme College :
Graeme College also participates in a number of academic competitions, some of which are the "Eskom Expo for Young Scientists," the "Harmony Mathematics Olympiad," the "South African National English Olympiad," the "SAASTA National Astronomy Quiz", and the "Amesa Mathematics Olympiad." Graeme College is currently ranked 35th academically of all the public schools in Africa.
Cultural
The school has a choir of more than 100 boys. There is also an elite choir for excellent singers, known as the "Leopard's Voice." There are three steelbands. In the junior school, there is a Marimba band which maintains close relations with the Grahamstown-based "African Musical Instruments", the leading producer of marimbas in Africa, as well as the Rhodes University Music Department. Debating is also offered, with the debating first team coming second in the 2013 Eastern Province Debating Championships and winning the Championships in 2015.
School song
The lyrics of the school song, from 1932, follow.
Our Fathers passed thro' the Drostdy Gate To the tiny school of a bygone day, But the lesson they learned was of changeless date, We learn it yet in the selfsame way; And hither the sons of our sons shall throng To learn their creed from the Graemians' song. O "Courage and Toil" was the watchword then 'Tis the watchword now, and for days to come; For courage and toil are the mark of men On the fastest pitch, in the fiercest scrum, At the hardest task when all goes wrong – And this is the creed of the Graemians' song We may wander away on the wings of hope To distant scenes in the far off years, But our hearts will return to the terraced slope The gabled roofs and the winding stairs, For time and distance but make more strong The spirit caught from the Graemians' song. Words : C.C. Wiles Tune : S.J. Newns First Sung : Speech Night 1932
William Philip Schreiner. 8th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.
Daniel Cheeky Watson. Former Eastern Province and Junior Springbok rugby union player who, with his brother Valance, was one of the first white South African rugby union players to participate in a mixed race rugby game, during the period when mixed-race activities were forbidden by apartheid legislation.
