Maritzburg College

Maritzburg College, known locally as College, is a public school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1863 and is the oldest boys' high school in KwaZulu-Natal – as well as being one of the oldest schools in South Africa. Today, it is attended by close to 1,300 students, of which approximately one third are boarders.Maritzburg College was ranked 12th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility.HistoryVictorian OriginsMaritzburg College was founded as the Pietermaritzburg High School in 1863, by Mr William Calder, in a carpenters shop in Langalibalele Street, to accommodate the influx of children arriving at the new city of Pietermaritzburg and its surrounding farmlands within the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. As the school swelled, "the best-trained in the Colony", PM Dudgeon, was commissioned to design – on the then outskirts of the city – a larger classroom and boarding block, which was completed in 1888 and later became known as 'Clark House', honouring the school's third headmaster, Mr RD Clark (MA (Oxon)), who is often referred to as ‘the Father of College’. Clark House is part of the heritage of Pietermaritzburg and carries the KwaZulu-Natal provincial heritage authorities seal certifying it as a heritage landmark. A similar honour was bestowed on the school's Victoria Hall, the building of which commenced in 1897 (Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee year) and which served as a British Army hospital from November 1899 until July 1900 during the Second Boer War.