Dale College
The year 2011 will mark the 150th anniversary of this fine school, Dale College. Dale began its
existence in 1861, when it was known as the Public Undenominational School for Boys. In 1877, a
foundation stone was laid by the Governor of the Cape, Sir Bartle Frere, and the school was named Dale
College after the Superintendent-General of Education for the Cape Colony, Sir Langham Dale. The
distinctive heron of the Dale family crest became the school’s emblem.
College-soldierThe original Dale College premises were on Queen’s Road, before the school moved into the
magnificent Herbert Baker designed building in the adjacent Albert Road in 1908. In 1960 the High School
again took up residence in a new building in Queen’s Road and the Junior School occupied the Herbert
Baker building. The War Memorial statue, which had stood in the courtyard of the Herbert Baker building,
was moved to the Hallowed Courtyard of the new building where it now accentuates the elegant frontage of
the school with its unhindered view of the distant Amathole Mountains
The present high school buildings stand on the highest point of the campus. The school facilities
include an assembly hall and a gym hall, a library and a computer room and well-equipped classrooms and
science labs. A staired pathway, adjacent to the swimming pool, links the school with the two hostels,
Joubert House and College House, which, in turn, are located a short distance above the playing fields.
The playing fields include four rugby fields (or two cricket pitches), seven cricket nets, an athletics
track, tennis courts and a turf hockey field. A community-owned hockey astro-turf is also located within
the campus and is used extensively by the school. The Malcom Andrew Sports Centre, adjacent to the main
rugby field, is the hub of all sporting encounters on the sports fields.
Makhaya Ntini, South Africa’s devastating fast bowler, is probably the best known Old Dalian of recent
times. But he is just one in a long line of Old Dalians who, through the years, have done their Almer
Mater proud. In every field of endeavour, be it sport, civics, cultural, commercial or professional, Old
Dalians reach for the stars. The latest Old Dalian to make us proud is Gareth Tjasink, who was competing
on Survivor South Africa 2006.
Source:www.dalecollege.co.za
