School History

1906

Established by the nuns of the Order of St John the Divine, an Anglican Sisterhood, the school was initially named St Elizabeth’s High School in honour of Elizabeth Field. The Fields owned the land that stretched from Clermont in the South-East to Botha’s Hill in the West – typically where Kloof now resides. A portion of the Fields farm was donated for the establishment of a school for girls.

1919

It closed its doors in 1919 as St Elizabeth’s and re-opened as St Mary’s DSG. The Honourable Frederick Samuel Baines, Bishop of Natal, opened St Mary’s DSG in Kloof on 3rd September 1919. The service was held in the Hall, a large barn-like construction, one of several wood and iron buildings on the property. The school chapel was also a wood and iron relic from the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), purchased from the Princess Christian Hospital at Sarnia and moved with the nuns from its original site on Field’s Hill.

Year one

St Mary’s welcomed 30 pupils in its first year, 2 of them boys too young to be enrolled in the local boys’ boarding school. For many years, St Mary’s DSG continued to enrol boys in classes I and II.

Today

From humble beginnings, we take pride in the leading academic school that St Mary’s has become and are committed to our vision to be the leading Christian school providing a holistic, values-based education that helps girls build their character, curiosity for learning and equipping them to thrive in life.