Prince Alfred College is a private, independent, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, near the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. The school has educated Rhodes Scholars, premiers and politicians, leaders of industry and finance, senior public servants, explorers and sportsmen. The school has maintained a worldwide alumni network, run by the Old Collegians' Association (PAOCA), since 1878. Alumni of the school are known as Old Reds.
Prince Alfred College is a private, independent, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, near the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. The school has educated Rhodes Scholars, premiers and politicians, leaders of industry and finance, senior public servants, explorers and sportsmen. The school has maintained a worldwide alumni network, run by the Old Collegians' Association (PAOCA), since 1878. Alumni of the school are known as Old Reds.
詳しい紹介を読む
Prince Alfred College is a private, independent, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, near the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. The school has educated Rhodes Scholars, premiers and politicians, leaders of industry and finance, senior public servants, explorers and sportsmen. The school has maintained a worldwide alumni network, run by the Old Collegians' Association (PAOCA), since 1878. Alumni of the school are known as Old Reds.
There is presently an enrolment of some 1,420 students from Reception to Year 12 (ages 5 to 18), Prince Alfred College launched its own Early Learning Centre in 1999 with a current enrolment of 260 co-educational students.
As a school with Methodist roots, it has maintained a strong connection throughout its history to the dual ideals of "muscular Christianity and the Christian gentlemen", consciously seeking to shape the next generation of men through physical and intellectual discipline. The school has a strong sporting culture and undertakes numerous outdoor programs. There is a historic sporting rivalry between the school and nearby St Peter's College, which has religious and intra-class origins. The Intercollegiate Cricket Match, played each year between the First XI of the two schools, is considered the second oldest known ongoing cricket contest in the world, having begun in 1878.
History
The school has been the subject of three histories written by, respectively, J. F. Ward (1883–1954), Ronald Malcolm Gibbs (1938-2015) and Rob Linn.
1854 to 1945
First conceived in 1854, the Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain) in South Australia voted to create a school 'for the education of our sons' in 1867, at what is now called Old Methodist Meeting Hall on Pirie Street. The land in the suburb of Kent Town had been secured earlier at the sum of £2,750 with enough capital (£6,00) to build the first part of the main building. The creation of a Methodist school followed other successful attempts in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The new school was primarily intended to educate children of wealthy businessmen and farmers with a view to create future civic leaders steeped in 'large and liberal culture'. At the time, Methodism accounted for a quarter of the colony's population, partly because of the influx of Cornish miners.
T. G. Waterhouse and the Rev. John Watsford persuaded the Governor of South Australia, Sir Dominick Daly, to ask Prince Alfred, then Duke of Edinburgh, to lay the foundation stone at the new school during his tour of the Australian colonies. In September it was announced that Alfred would lay the stone and that the new school would be the 'Alfred College'. The stone was laid on 5 November 1867 at 2pm.
The only female student to attend the school was Lilian Staple Mead, daughter of Baptist minister Silas Mead, in 1883–1884, in order to matriculate and enter University at a time when few schools were available for girls to do so.
1945 to 1999
The school has attracted many royal visitors since its foundation, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1954. In the 1970s, the Prince Alfred College Foundation was created under the direction of businessman, W. Geoffrey Gerard. Its first project was the Scotts Creek outdoor campus located at Mannum in country South Australia, before developments at the preparatory school, gymnasium and boarding house. The Foundation quickly became the financial arm of the school responsible for many major redevelopments.
The Methodist Church of Australasia amalgamated with other Protestant churches in 1977 to form the Uniting Church in Australia, which the school is now affiliated with.
2000 to present
In 2000 the school was mentioned in the Australian Parliament when the then Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley, had to deny his children attended the school. The matter arose because of a controversial letter sent to MPs by the headmaster, Stephen Codrington, regarding proposed legislative changes.
At one time, Princes was the only college in Adelaide to offer the IB Diploma at all three stages; the PYP and MYP are compulsory units of work for Preparatory and Middle school students, enabling its students to continue to complete the Diploma in year 11 and 12, or to be recognised nationally with the SACE.
On Wednesday 18 April 2018, Elizabeth II's son, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, visited Prince Alfred College, and participated in an unveiling a stone to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the College. In 2019, Prince Alfred College celebrated its sesquicentenary 150th Anniversary.
The second female member of the school's leadership was appointed in 2024, Deputy Headmistress Georgina West; the first being Cynthia May (2004 – 2007).
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, officially opened a new building built by the PAOCA.
The original school campus is in the Adelaide suburb of Kent Town. The school also owns two other campuses, one for outdoor education in Scott's Creek, and the other in Point Turton named 'Wambana'.
Kent Town
The original and main campus is located in Kent Town, approximately 2 km east of the Adelaide city centre. The land, originally leased by Dr Benjamin Archer Kent from 1840 to 1859, then bought by Charles Robin, was bought at auction from Charles Robin for £2750 on 18 September 1865. However, it was not until 22 June 1969 that the college celebrated its inauguration, two years after the laying of the foundation stone by H.R.H. Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
The school campus is divided by the main building, with the preparatory school on the Flinders Street (south) side of the school, and the middle and Senior schools on the Capper Street (north) side.
Scotts Creek Campus
Scotts Creek campus is the college's Murray River retreat. The Scotts Creek Outdoor Centre is located near Morgan, approximately 165 km from Adelaide. It provides a mix of environmental education, ad
