History of St Andrew’s College
St Andrew’s College was founded in 1855 by the Right Reverend John Armstrong, first Bishop of Grahamstown. Bishop Armstrong’s choice of school motto for St Andrew’s College; Nec Aspera Terrent (Difficulties do not dismay us) is apt given the history of the Eastern Cape.
The original school building, now Upper House, is reputed to have been designed by Mrs Armstrong being assisted by Bishop Armstrong who had a great interest in and knowledge of architecture. Together they consulted with Captain C Hervey of the Royal Engineers and Lieutenant Sutton regarding the construction of the building.
The St Andrew’s College Chapel was designed in the Romanesque style by Sir Herbert Baker and executed by Franklin Kendall. It was dedicated in 1914 to the Old Andreans who died in various conflicts in the first 50 years of the school’s history.
The St Andrew’s College clock tower was designed as a memorial to those Old Andreans who had died in the first world war. The foundation stone was laid in 1921 and the tower was dedicated on St Andrew’s Day in 1923.
St Andrew’s College is an innovative independent school regarded as one of the leading schools in the country. St Andrew’s College model is based on that of a “house system”, a traditional feature of English boarding schools whereby each student is allocated to a house at the moment of enrolment.
St Andrew’s College enjoys a unique co-ordinate relationship with its neighboring sister school, The Diocesan School for Girls (DSG). This relationship is practically expressed in that students from Grades 10 to Grades 12 share classes.