Our History
BRIEF HISTORY
The Sierra Leone Grammar School was founded on 25th March 1845 as the Church Missionary Society( C.M.S.) Grammar School – the first secondary school in Sub- Saharan Africa. The school started with 14 pupils drawn from students of Fourah Bay College and was housed at Regent Square in a massive building which still exists. This is the origin of the names “Regentonia” and “Regentonian”.
The founding Principal was Rev. Thomas Peyton. On his death in 1853, Rev. James Quaker, one of the 14 original pupils, assumed leadership of the school – the first Regentonian and Sierra Leonean to do so.
Subjects offered within the first century of the school’s existence included English Grammar and Composition, Greek, Latin, French, Bible Knowledge, Mathematics, Science, Geography, Astronomy, History, Writing, Recitation, Music, Agriculture, Physical Education, Printing, Carpentry and Navigation. Additional subjects since the 1950s were Mende, Economics, Accounting, British Constitution/Government, Technical Drawing and Art leading to the wide range of subjects currently studied. There were also opportunities for Football, Cricket, Athletics, Swimming and activities related to Scouting and Missionary Work.
Over the years, the school became famous for the education, discipline and career prospects which she provided. With the availability of boarding facilities at Regent Square, the school attracted pupils from various parts of the country and the African continent at large thus creating the special Regentonian characteristic of dogged determination in the pursuit of goals. It was partly through the quality education provided by the school that Sierra Leone earned the cherished name of ‘Athens of West Africa”.
In 1962, the school moved to the present spacious site of about 50 acres at Murray Town with tremendous opportunities for development. The school has always been responsive to new educational ideas and programmes which have been refined and successfully welded to her basic traditional structure. She has led the way in many fields and development. Regentonians can be found playing leading roles in many spheres of life at home and abroad thus reflecting the school’s continued commitment to discipline and quality education for excellent service.
After an independent existence of a century during which the school was solely managed by the Church Missionary Society, she became a Government-Assisted School with the Government assuming greater responsibility for the payment of Teachers’ salaries and providing occasional grants.
In September 2007, the school regained her independent status and is now administered under the Anglican Diocese of Freetown (as successor to the C.M.S.) as a Private Company Limited by Guarantee and not having a Share Capital with the Bishop as Proprietor and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
More information about the school’s history can be obtained from “A History
of the Sierra Leone Grammar School(1845-2015)” by Professor C. Magbailly •Fyle which every New Entrant reviews as part of the Admission Package.