St. George's High School
The History of St. George's High School, Giriama.
1. The Name
“The St. George’s High School” is the official name of the school. The school is named after Saint George, the patron Saint of England and Catalonia who died on April 23, 303 A.D. Since there are many schools bearing the name “St. George’s”, it has been a practice to add the locality name “Giriama” or the administrative area name “Kaloleni” to distinguish it from all other schools with the same name. Thus, “St. George’s High School, Giriama” or “St. George’s High School, Kaloleni” still refers to one and the same school whether it is written with or without the article “The” at the beginning.
2. Location
The St. George’s High School Giriama is located in Mwabayanyundo area of Kaloleni location in Kilifi County. The school is situated 4 Kilometers from Kaloleni town on a hillside about 300 meters off the C107 Kaloleni-Mariakani highway. It is accessible via private or public transport. Its address is retrievable in maps as “St. Georges High School, P.O Box 59, C107, Giriama, Kenya” or “5HHV+XHR Giriama, Kenya” or geolocation -3.82002, 39.5939 or 3°49’12.1″S 39°35’38.0″E.
3. History of the School
St. George’s High School Giriama (formerly known as “St. George’s School”) was started in the early 1950’s as an intermediate school by the missionaries of Holy Ghost Fathers of the Catholic Church who came to Mwabayanyundo from Waa town in Kwale County, where they had initially settled. When the missionaries arrived in Mwabayanyundo, they constructed a dam to alleviate water shortage in the area. The dam was also named Waa, which to date the name “Waa dam” is still used.
As an intermediate school at the time, students would be enrolled and spend two (2) years in Form 1 and 2 and sit for an exam that would allow those who passed to move to another school to pursue Form 3 and 4. In 1957, the school was upgraded from an intermediate category into a full “High” school category offering the possibility for students to complete four (4) years (Form 1, 2, 3 and 4) in the same school. It was thus renamed “St. George’s High School”, joining the prestigious league making it the second “High” school in the then Coast Province (now Coast region), with the first one being the Shimo-la-Tewa High School.
From its establishment until mid-1970’s, the St. George’s High School was headed by Irish Catholic priests or the order of the Holy Ghost Fathers. From 1975 onwards, it has been headed by Kenyans.
4. The school badge
Name of the school
At the top of the school badge is the name ST. GEORGE’S HIGH SCHOOL.
Dove
The dove is a symbol of peace to signify that the patron saint advocated for peace. It reminds and encourages us to seek peace with all people at all times, anywhere and everywhere we are.
Heart and cross
The heart signifies love, and the cross is the cross of Christ, which signifies the Christian faith that Saint George gave his life for.
Saint George and the Dragon
At the bottom right-hand corner of the badge is a portrait of Saint George riding a horse and slaying the dragon using a lance.
School Motto
At the bottom of the badge is the school motto, in Latin: AD ALTIORA TENDIMUS, which literally means “We hung with the mighty” but it can be freely translated as “We strive for the highest”.
5. School values
As a school founded by Catholic Priests, the main drive at St. George’s is to produce holistic graduates by instilling spiritual discipline alongside academic excellence. This overarching principle is translated into the following core values of the school.
The fear of God
St. George’s High School was founded on Christian principles. The founders of St. George’s High School envisioned an institution that would ensure holistic development of boys. In their vision, the institution was not only to concentrate on academics but on spiritual development, as first and foremost. To the founders, the spiritual development was key. In order to attain the two objectives a number of things were put in place and the students of St. George’s High School had to exercise them: prayer at all times both for Christian and Muslims.
Brotherhood
As a school founded by Catholic Priests, the main drive at St. George’s is to produce holistic graduates by instilling spiritual discipline alongside academic excellence. This overarching principle is translated into the following core values of the school.
Hard work
Students at St. George’s need not be reminded of hard work: they are self-driven with ambition to be excellent in the studies. That’s the core value of being a St. Georgian. To every St. Georgian, terms like MWENGE, EXTENSION, CONNECTION and many more elicit a sense of pride to have been part of this “reading culture”. St. Georges continues to produce among the best graduates in Kaloleni sub-county with several students joining the Universities annually.
Discipline/Self-management/Time management
Respect of self, other students, support staff and teachers are the norm. At St. George’s, individual (e.g., self-hygiene) and collective activities (e.g., general cleaning of school compound) are conducted smoothly. This is a necessary behavioural component that functionalizes the other core values.
Holistic development
Other than the spiritual discipline and academic excellence that undoubtedly are fundamental student life, St. George’s High School has always been an institution that embraces holistic development. There are many other activities that students participate in. Ball games (e.g., basketball, football, hockey, et.,) are among the favourite sports that St. Georgians are known for. The different clubs (e.g., young farmers, debating, science, drama, music, etc.) have produced students that have developed their career beyond the school becoming active environmentalists, politicians, scientists, and many more altogether contributing in several ways to the implementation of the millennium goals.