History
The Royal College Curepipe is one of the oldest institutions of the Republic of Mauritius. The history of the Royal College Curepipe stretches back to 1791. In that particular year, the ancestor of the Royal College of Curepipe, the 'Collège National' also known as the 'Collège Colonial' was founded in Port Louis. It was reserved for the children of the privileged classes of that area, and the college bore the name of 'École Centrale' in 1800, before taking that of "Lycée Colonial" from 1803 to 1810 during the final years of the French rule in Mauritius.
The 'Lycée Colonial' was a boarding school and military training was introduced. For six months after the British conquest in 1810, the 'Lycée Colonial' was used as a military hospital. Finally in 1813, the name of the college was changed by a decree of Governor Sir Robert Farquhar, dated on 27 January of that year and the 'Lycée' became the Royal College, with the status of a public institution under the protection of the Sovereign of Great Britain. The name has remained till this day despite Mauritius becoming a republic. In 1871, the Curepipe school was established, the reason being to provide students with an alternative to the long and tiring trips from Curepipe to Port Louis. By 1883, the Curepipe branch had a very good reputation and the then Rector, Mr. A. Messervy, declared during a prize-giving ceremony; "It is not improbable that the Curepipe Establishment may ultimately become the headquarters of the Royal College."
By 1907, there was seen to be a need for a new site and a Royal College Site Committee with Mr. Georges Guibert at its head presented a report that indicated Quatre Bornes as the best location. However, the cost was estimated at around R360 000 and the project did not advance from there. In 1912, it was decided that the college would remain in Curepipe and on the 1st October 1912, the Governor Sir Robert Chancellor and the Director of Public Works, Mr. Paul Le Juge de Segrais laid down the foundation stone of the present building. Two years later, on 12 January 1914, construction was complete. The college built of blue basalt, resembled the Buckingham Palace, London with its characteristic symmetrical rectangular form.
At the beginning of this century, the college was preparing pupils for the Matriculation and University degree examinations in the United Kingdom, as well as for the Junior and Senior Cambridge local examinations. The college was teaching Classical Subjects, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Modern Languages. English, French, English History and French History were compulsory throughout the course of studies. The college was divided in two departments; the upper college with a classical and a modern side comprising four classes each, and a lower college comprising four classes. Studies were to take nine years to complete. Latin is introduced in the third year and Greek and Science in the fifth. There are twenty five hours of tuition per week. Fifteen scholarships were annually awarded through competition. Two scholarships were for studies in Great Britain and had been awarded every year since the Education Ordinance was passed in 1857. These scholarships were solely reserved for the Royal College.
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