Port Alfred
High School
The Heart of Port Alfred
Port Alfred School is a family school. We cater for children from nursery school to matric on one beautiful campus with one Principal and one Governing Body.
We celebrate our origin at a special Founders Day Assembly in August each year. On this special day, everyone takes the time to reflect on just how far our town’s oldest school has come since those early days of 1883. This was the year that the school was officially converted into a Government School and it was housed in an Anglican church building in Park Road. The school then had an enrolment of about fifty boys and girls.Over the years, the school has grown to nearly 1000 children from nursery school to matric. Rooted in a proud past, the Port Alfred School staff, governing body, alumni and greater community work together to move with the times, catering for the needs of our children on a multitude of levels.The school’s motto, “Facta Non Verba” meaning “Deeds and not Words” is an constant theme which the School underpins at every opportunity. Honesty, integrity, grit and determination, perseverance, loyalty and commitment are qualities held in high regard by one and all at Port Alfred School.
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Our journey starting in 1882
As one of the oldest schools in the Eastern Cape we are exceptionally proud of our heritage
1915 | A new Headmaster in the person of Edward Henry Martin took over from Snelgar. Edward Martin was very active in the Civic and Church life of the town until his retirement in 1921. |
1908 | James Lean retired and was replaced by Henry Charles Snelgar. |
1922 | Claude Errington Warner was appointed Headmaster for a year. |
1923 | Col. Ernest George Harvey, is recognised as the Headmaster responsible for the upgrading of the school and the establishment of tradition. Apart from renovating and painting the classrooms (mainly out of his own pocket), he established both an English and an Afrikaans Library and a cadet corps, purchased equipment and started or revived rugby, cricket, tennis, swimming and rowing. There is a note in the records stating that the headmaster and 12 boys proceeded with oxwagon to collect antheap material for a proposed cricket pitch. He introduced yearly concerts, designed the school badge, and in fact set the school on course in almost every way imaginable. |
1925 | Mr Todd M.P.C. was present at the opening of school in January and spoke to the children mentioning the need for a new school and that he would do his best to implement it. In May, the school was visited by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. |
1926 | Tennis was introduced an organized school sport. The first interhouse cricket match is recorded. |
1927 | Hockey is introduced as a sport. |
1931 | The new name, Queen Alexandra Secondary School was chosen, not directly, as is popularly believed, in honour of the wife of King Edward VII but because the new campus had previously been a botanical garden called “Queen Alexandra Park”. The original park gates today stand proudly on our campus as a gateway to our sports fields.
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1929 | The School moved up the hill to its present site. Enrolment was nearly 200 children and the new school had all the modern conveniences. It now offered education up to Grade 10 / Standard 10 and was thus a Secondary School. |
1937 | Electricity was installed at a total cost of £11. |
1941 | No prizes were awarded as money was sent to the Medical Aid Fund for the Russian Front. |
1938 | Bookkeeping (accounting) was introduced as a subject. |