Our Story | Memorabilia

The history of St. Jago High School is a fascinating one, spanning 255 years dating back to 1744. The School has an intriguing history and is the result of the amalgamation of no less than three different educational institutions.

The Birth of a Giant
St. Jago High School is the offshoot of the Free School of St. Jago de la Vega. The Free School was born when its major benefactor, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica, Colonel Peter Beckford, in his will dated 1730, bequethed the sum of 1,000 pounds sterling towards the construction of a free school or hospital. The institution was intended to benefit the poor people of the town of St. Jago de la Vega, later renamed Spanish Town.

Several other smaller endowments were made, resulting in the establishment of the St. Jago de la Vega Free School in 1744.

While the Free School flourished, some 100 years later, Francis Smith, then custos of St. Catherine, bequethed 300 pounds sterling in his will, dated 1830, to the founding of a school in the parish. Called the Smith's Charity School after its benefactor. It was opened in 1833.

In 1876, this school was to merge with St Jago de la Vega Free School to form Beckford and Smith's Boys School. In 1956, the final merger to form the present day St. Jago High School took place. At that time, Cathedral High School for Girls was amalgamated with Beckford and Smiths Boys School. A new building housing the aptly named St Jago High School was declared open in 1958 by then gevernor general of Jamaica, Sir Kenneth Blackburne.

Without reserve and modesty, Beckford and Smith can lay claim to outstanding nation builders - among the finest this county has produced. The list includes National Hero Norman Washington, founding father of the nation and Jamaica's first native premier. He was a student at Beckford and Smith's school during the time now fondly referred to as "the roaring 20s". Mr Manley himself an athlete and one of Jamaica's most respected legal minds, symbolises the excellence of St. Jago, both then and now.

An "All-Rounder"
Throughout the years, the school has continued to distinguish itself; leaving its stamp on the academic records of the nation.

Scholarship
Its impact began to be felt when, in 1963, Augustus Grant won the Jamaica Scholarship. Dr Grant is now a benefactor to the school through the Grant Foundation. This show of academic excellence has continued through the years, with the school producing a Rhodes Scholar in Haniph Latchman from the graduating class of 1978 and now a professor at the University of Florida. Both Professor Latchman and another graduate of 1978, Mr. Maurice McNaughton - a Jamaica Scholar (1978) won two of the six open scholarships to the University of The West Indies granted in 1978. Furthering the trend of scholastic excellence the Independence Open Scholarship based on GCE Advanced level results was awarded to Kevin Page in 1995. The school won the JBC sponsored School's Challenge Quiz competition on two occasions and in 1996 was a semi-finalist in the National Schools Debating Competition having won this competition in 1988.

Sports
St Jago High School has also done consistently well in the sporting arena with the best achievements being in Track and Field/athletics and cricket. The school has won the boys athletics championships two times in 1987 and 1993 and placing second in 1996. The girls have also consistently performed well achieving the honor of being crowned Girls' athletic champions in 1996. Athletes from St Jago have consistently performed exceptionally well at the annual Penn Relays held in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. with the school being one of only two schools to have in recent years won all but one of the relays in which high schools compete. At the international level of competition Bertland Cameron achieved the distinction of being the World champion at 400 metres in 1989. Internationally this tradition continues as, at the recently concluded 1996 Atlanta Olympics, three members of the Jamaican squad are products of St. Jago with Michelle Freeman achieving olympic medallist status in the hurdles. Other St Jago Olympians include Juliet Campbell and Gregory Meghoo and of course Bertland Cameron.

St Jago High has won the Sunlight cup cricket competitions in 1972 and 1977 and have been participants in thwe finals several times. The school has also been a force to reckon with in Netball, volleyball and table tennis competitions with the girls' team reaching the finals in this years table tennis competitions.

The Arts
The Spanish Town based school has also distinguished itself in the arts, having won many national trophies in speech, drama, dance and music during the annual Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Festival of Arts Competitions. The school has been the sole holder of the Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in the performing arts since its inception in 1994.

Active Alumni
St Jago High has a very active Past Students Association which involves itself in every aspect of the schools development. The association recently donated a bus to the school to be used to transport thwe schools athletes to national competitions. In addition to several events planned and hosted by the association the executive contributes to the school in the form of various types of equipment and sponsorship of needy students. It has also since 1978 hosted an annual awards banquet at which they honour past alumni who have excelled in their chosen professions. Receipients of the awards over the years include: