Gill College

Gill College
Location
College Rd Somerset East , Eastern Cape South Africa 32°43′15.4″S 25°35′18.5″E
Information
Motto	Sursum Prorsusque
Established	1869 (1869)
Grades	8–12
Gender	Co-educational
Accreditation	Eastern Cape Education Department

Gill College is a dual-medium (Afrikaans and English), co-educational South African high school in KwaNojoli, formerly Somerset East, Sarah Baartman District Municipality. It provides quality education through grades 8–12, serving students from all cultural backgrounds.

History

Gill College owes its existence to Dr. William Gill (1792–1863), a Scottish-born surgeon who arrived in the Cape Colony in 1818 and who was appointed as the District Surgeon of Somerset in 1829. He amassed a fortune as a Merino sheep farmer. In his will dated 19 January 1863 he bequeathed £23 000 for the establishment of a college of higher education. It was stipulated in his will that the money not be used for buying or erecting buildings, and that assets in the estate including property not be sold.

The Gill College Corporation was formed with seven trustees, including Dr. Langham Dale, local lawyer James Leonard and Robert Hart, to manage the endowment. The Governor of the Cape Good Hope Sir Henry Barkly granted the Gill College Corporation a piece of land situated in Somerset East on 16 April 1867, for the sole purpose of erecting buildings for the educational institution.

A committee, formed in 1865 under the Chairmanship of Robert Bowker, appealed to the local community for public subscriptions and support to supplement Dr. Gill’s bequest for building the college. James Bisset drew up the initial plans of the campus. The architecture of the college was based on that of the University of Glasgow. The foundation stone was laid in late 1867 and Gill College was officially opened on 18 March 1869, under the Rectorship of Peter MacOwan.

The Gill College Act No. 32 of 1884 amended the restrictions of Gill's final will, in that it allowed for the sale of Erf 57, Paulett Street, including the building thereon, and that the proceeds be used to build student accommodation on the College property. The residence, College House, on the College Campus was completed in 1892.

Gill College functioned as a small university college for several decades, offering arts, science, and teacher-training courses, with degrees examined and awarded in affiliation with the University of the Cape of Good Hope.

Somerset East was a remote rural frontier town in the 19th-century Cape Colony. Travel remained arduous—primarily by ox-wagon, and later supplemented by the emerging railway network—making the town unappealing to many prospective students, particularly those from wealthier or urban families. Although the college’s buildings were architecturally impressive, its facilities were under-resourced, with limited laboratories, libraries, and accommodation compared with urban rivals. Boarding helped attract some students, but overall capacity stayed modest.

By the early 1900s, university-college status required more than 75 matriculated pupils. Gill College, constrained by its isolated location and small scale, consistently fell short of this threshold, with enrolments remaining in the dozens rather than the hundreds. Strong opposition from the newly established Rhodes University College proved especially damaging. Rhodes successfully lobbied Cape authorities to enforce the enrolment regulations strictly, thereby limiting competition in the Eastern Cape. Combined with a broader national preference for fewer, larger institutions, these pressures made it impossible for Gill College to maintain its university status. In 1903 it transitioned fully into a high school.

The school was co-educational before 1928 and again after 1965, when it amalgamated with Bellevue Girls’ School (originally Bellevue Seminary); between those years it operated as a boys-only institution.

Bellevue Seminary itself had been founded to address the lack of formal education for girls in the town. Until 1880 only two small private schools served girls, while boys attended Gill College. At the urging of the local Dutch Reformed minister, Rev. J.H. Hofmeyr, the church council acquired land in Paulet Street and laid the foundation stone on 19 July 1881. Designed by architect Carl Otto Hager (who also designed the local NG Kerk), the building cost £5,000 and opened on 29 September 1882 under its first principal, Miss Jane Wright of Aberdeen, Scotland. The original structure later served as a boarding house and teachers’ residence. Government support began in 1885, additional buildings followed in 1895, and in 1906 a substantial new school block with an assembly hall and seven classrooms was opened by Cape Governor Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson. The institution was raised to full high-school status in 1925. When it amalgamated with Gill College in 1965, a new senior girls’ hostel had just been completed; that building remains in use by Gill College today (though no longer as a hostel). The original Seminary buildings were later taken over for military use by the Somerset East Commando and have since deteriorated.

The Gill Corporation Private Act of 1912 allowed for the Trustees to grant 3-year bursaries ("Dr. Gill Bursaries") to deserving students who passed the Matriculation Examination or the University Senior Certificate examination of the Cape of Good Hope, to further their studies at an acceptable institution within or outside the Union of South Africa.

The original Gill College building, with Dr. Gill's grave and memorial and Mr. Coppens' grave in the foreground

Gill College's "failure" as a university was a victim of its time: an ambitious but under-scaled venture in a rapidly centralizing and urbanizing education system. It succeeded admirably as a secondary school. Today, it thrives as one of South Africa's oldest high schools, with the original buildings as heritage sites.

The 1950s to 1970s saw Gill College emerge as a dominant force in schoolboy rugby in the Eastern Cape, as a result of the role played by legendary teacher and coach C.A. Coppens. Coppens was a mathematics teacher at the school from 1935 to 1984. He is buried next to Dr. Gill in front of the Old College building.

In 1916 Dr. Gill's remains were reburied in front of the school which he endowed, and which was named for him, Gill College.  The magnificent campus is a fitting memorial for such a man.

Rectors and headmasters

University College leaders held the title of Rector; school leaders were styled Headmaster or Principal.

• Peter MacOwen (1869 - 1881) was the first Rector of Gill College. He had previously served as principal of Shaw College in Grahamstown. At Gill College he headed the natural sciences department and contributed significantly to South African botany, especially the study of lichens and fungi. He later became a Director of the Cape Town Botanical Gardens and curator of the Cape Government Herbarium.
• Professor Robert MacWilliam (1881 - 1903), taught at Gill College specializing in Classics and English Studies while holding the dual chair. Following a tenure in Scotland (1889–1896) as a lecturer, he returned to South Africa as an inspector of schools, later cementing his legacy as a key academic figure connecting Scottish university traditions to the Eastern Cape education system
• William J. Gall (Rector 1903 - 1909; Headmaster 1909 - 1936) was an alumnus of the University of Aberdeen, completing his Master of Arts degree there before migrating to South Africa. He built his early career in the Cape Colony as a co-principal and classical master at other colonial educational institutions. He oversaw the transition of Gill College from a university college to a high school. Gall was the primary administrator responsible for implementing the 1928 structural shift that converted the institution into a single-sex boys' school. He served a long tenure as principal of the school. The title of Rector was maintained until 1909 despite the loss of university college status.
• F. E. de Villiers (1937 - 1955)
• H. Winkler (1956 - 1960)
• S. D. Naudé (1960 - date unknown)
• Nic Viljoen (1980s)
• Tienie Koen (1990s - 2005)
• Steven Zietsman (2005 - 2014) later served as headmaster of Brandwag High School.
• Marina Marais (acting, post 2014)
• Hein van Heerden (2016 - 2018) was previously a deputy principal at the Hoërskool Merensky in Tzaneen.
• Shirley Slater-Billett (2018 - 2026) was the first female principal in the school’s history. She had previously taught at the school and led Gill College through its sesquicentennial celebrations and emphasised academic excellence and core institutional values.
• Neil Schreuder (from May 2026 - present) was appointed principal after more than 35 years of service at Hoër Volkskool Graaff-Reinet.

Gill College coat of arms

Gill College Coat of Arms

The Shield is divided into 3 sections horizontally:

• Three Footless Martlets (Swallows): From the ancient Gill family crest (Scottish Lowlands origin, linked to clans like MacGill or Gill of Devorgilla). Martlets symbolize swiftness, migration (echoing Gill's journey from Scotland to the Cape), and the "winged" pursuit of knowledge without earthly ties (footless = ungrounded, ever-ascending).
• Fish (Salmon) with Ring in Mouth: Directly from the arms of the City of Glasgow and University of Glasgow (where Dr. Gill trained as a surgeon). It references the miracle of Saint Mungo (aka St Kentigern), Glasgow's patron saint, who recovered a lost ring from a fish's mouth to vindicate Queen Languoreth. This evokes themes of providence, truth, redemption, and the "hidden treasures" of learning.
• Sheet Anchor: The Cape Colony's colonial badge (introduced 1806), representing hope, stability, and the "anchor" of British education in the frontier. It grounds the Scottish elements in the local context.

The motto is "Sursum Prorsusque", inscribed on a blue riband below the shield. Translation: "Upwards and Onwards," emphasizing aspiration, resilience, and forward progress.

Notable alumni

• James Weston Leonard, former Attorney-General of the Cape Colony
• James Rose Innes, former Chief Justice of South Africa
• William Hofmeyr Craib, distinguished South African cardiologist and physician. He received an honorary Doctor of Science and made significant contributions to cardiology research and practice. His father, James Craib, taught at Gill College.
• Pieter de Lange, a prominent South African educationist and academic. He held senior roles in education policy and administration and served in various leadership positions in higher education. He was the Chairman of the Afrikaner Broederbond
• Hambly Parker, Hannes Marais, Michael du Plessis, Willie du Plessis and Anton Meiring, former South African rugby union players
• Sieg Minnie, former South African international rifle shooter

External links

• Official website
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110814054231/http://d4512446.u80.securedc.com/E/geskiedenis.html