The St. Andrew High School for Girls was already five years old, with an enrollment of 186 pupils when the Preparatory Department was opened on September 16, 1930. This was not by any means the first Preparatory Department to be attached to a high school, for both Wolmer's and St. Hugh's already had their classes for the younger ones, and it was from St. Hugh's that Miss Adela Anderson came to establish the school which many years later was to become St. Andrew Preparatory School. For some time the Board of Management had been considering the move to establish a preparatory department, with the Rev. John Gartshore and the Rev. E. Armon Jones being particularly keen to see the school open its doors to younger pupils. The first mention of the new Preparatory Department in the Log Book of the High School was made on February 6, 1930, the date too of the letter of appointment sent to Miss. Anderson offering her the post of mistress in charge of the Preparatory Department at a salary of £180 per annum. With fourteen years of experience already behind her, Miss Anderson found the offer attractive for it would give her the chance to put into effect her ideas of the type of education suitable for young children.

The beginning was small, only ten children ranging in age from three and a half to seven years. By the end of that first term, they were invited to take part in the High School Prize giving, being given “The Ovation of the day for their Nursery Rhymes and Musical Drill.”

Perhaps this account in the press had something to do with the fact that by the beginning of the following term the number of pupils had doubled.

By April 1932, more accommodation was needed and the Preparatory children moved into what was known as the garage, where the High School Library is now situated, and there they remained until they could move into their own premises. On September 21, 1933, the building which still houses the Primary Forms was opened by the Governor of Jamaica, Sir Ransford Slater. It had been designed to look as much like a home as possible, and a look at houses built at that time shows that it did reflect the architectural style of the day. It contained four classrooms and an office and for the next twenty years was to accommodate a steadily increasing number of children.

A look through the log book for this period shows the St. Andrew High School Preparatory Department made the news quite frequently. Entertainment and Prize Giving performances were duly recorded in the Daily Gleaner while sports days for a number of years were given full coverage- attesting to the athletic prowess of Michael Manley, Eric Bell, Ramon Alberga, Fay Carpenter Simpson, Barbara Fonseca, and the three Ashenheim brothers, all of whom went on to make their mark in other fields. It is important to note that the late Honourable Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica, and his brother Dr. Douglas Manley were two of the first ten students of the school. Michael, a leader from the very beginning, was the first school captain of the St. Andrew Preparatory School.

The early years saw the beginning of many of the traditions which are still important in the school today. Brownies began in 1933 and the first Sports Day was in 1935. The custom of bringing gifts to the Christmas Tree for distribution to Children's homes dates from 1932, although the annual Christmas programme came much later, being a regular feature only since 1949. Friday Pennies have been brought by the children since 1935, retaining the original name after the change to decimal coinage, as Friday Cents just didn't sound right.

In December 1950, Miss Anderson retired after twenty years in the Preparatory Department. She had seen the enrollment increase ten fold in that time and could look back with pleasure and satisfaction at a job well done. Her place was taken by Miss Olwen Armon Jones who had come originally as a student teacher and after training abroad had returned in 1940 to join the staff. The daughter of one of its founding fathers, she took charge of the school at the beginning of a period of expansion, in a decade which was to see far reaching changes on the educational scene in Jamaica.

In December 1955 after her marriage, Mrs. Olwen Levy, as she had now become, left with her husband to reside in Montego Bay, where in time she became the Headmistress of St. James Preparatory School. The original log book ends at this most appropriate spot marking a quarter century of the life of the school and ending a chapter which reached back through Mrs. Levy's father, to its very foundation.

In January 1956, Mrs. Val Milner took over the administration of the Preparatory Department having joined the staff five years previously in 1951. At that time there were 125 children on roll, ranging in age from 4 to 9, the age at which children transferred to the lower forms of high schools. Within the next two years, that was all to change.

In 1957 the Junior Department was established with Miss Jean Watson in charge and in 1958 the Common Entrance Examination was introduced. At first the children of the Junior Department were housed in two form rooms in the High School, but by 1960 they moved into Cecelio Lodge. The transition from being a small Department of a High School to becoming the completely separate Preparatory School of today took ten years. One of the first was to extend the PTA to include parents of children in the Junior Department with Mr. E. Groves becoming the first chairman under the new constitution which was to remain in operation until further revisions were made in 1979.

The decade of the sixties saw many changes on the wider educational scene, which in turn affected the Preparatory School. Demand for places grew even heavier and within the next five years the buildings had been expanded to include four new classrooms as well as the Hall, while the new driveway was built, carefully retaining all the mature trees in the garden of Cecelio Lodge.

In December 1960 the first Junior Department Prizegiving was held being incorporated into the Christmas Programme which traditionally ended the school year for the younger children. On that occasion, Miss Watson gave the report on the Junior department while Mrs. Milner dealt with the important events for the Primary forms. For the next six years this remained the pattern as the school continued to be administered as separate departments, each headed by a Mistress in Charge. On March 20, 1967, the school was shocked by the sudden death of Miss Watson. Originally from Ireland, she had been involved in education in Jamaica for almost 30 years first at Shortwood College, then at St. Andrew High School and finally as Mistress in Charge of the Junior Department of the St. Andrew Preparatory School.  Plans had already been underway for the establishment of a separate Board of Management for the Preparatory School, which had its first meeting on June 12, 1967 in the new Kindergarten classroom. One of the first decisions was to combine the two departments under a single administration. Finding a suitable person interested in such a post proved difficult and eventually Mrs. Milner agreed to act in the post for two years while the search continued.  

With the school now grown to almost forty times its original size, another new appointment was made in September 1968 when Miss Madge Broderick became the Deputy Head, the position she held until 1975. The school continued to thrive under their leadership. The Mighty Mice Magazine which was started by Miss Watson in 1958 continued as an annual publication to date and includes stories, pictures and poems from the students.

The contribution of the P.T.A. to the development of the school has been invaluable with many improvements and innovations being made as a result of suggestions by parents and teachers. On February 24, 1943 the inaugural meeting of the Parents' and Teachers Association was held with Lady Huggins “kindly consenting to become President.” Since then the meetings of the P.T.A. were recorded fairly regularly, with matters such as “Discipline,” the “Naughty Child,” and “Development in the Early Years” being topics for discussion. Such discussions and activities are still had today. The interest and assistance of the Association is not confined to activities within the school. Since 1966 the P.T.A. has sponsored the Minna Carr School at Cane River, nine miles from Kingston. Land and buildings were acquired through the efforts of parents and our regular financial commitment helps to pay the teacher and her assistant and send them to training workshops. Members of the committee visit the school at least twice each term and children go out at times too. Today, the P.T.A. continues to be a moving force behind many projects in the school, and their invaluable contribution is never taken for granted.

The school celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1980. At that time, a suggestion was made to adopt a motto for the school which would reflect the philosophy of the school. The final selection of “WORK, PLAY AND LEARN TOGETHER” which was made by the Staff and students, managed to sum up in four words a great deal of what the school has stood for over the years.

In 1982, Miss Madge Broderick became the Principal after having served the school for thirteen years. She continued with the tradition of long term objectives, programmes and organizational values within the school. Under her leadership, the school continued to expand its horizons. St Andrew Prep has always been on the cutting edge, as it was under Ms. Broderick's leadership for example that a Resource Room for students with special learning needs was established. A Science lab and Multimedia Room were also built under her direction.

Over the years, much emphasis has been placed on academics, sports, the performing arts and art and craft, as St. Andrew Prep has maintained its place as a leading Preparatory school. The School has come a long way since 1930. After over 33 years of service to the school, Miss Broderick passed the baton over to Miss Renee Rattray in 2004 as the strong legacy of the school  continued to be fulfilled.

Changes which have come about in the third quarter century could never have been envisaged when the proposal was made to open a Preparatory Department. Yet, at seventy nine years the school has provided, with remarkable consistency, the kind of education which the then Governor, Sir Ransford Slater spoke of when at the opening of the Preparatory School building on September 21, 1933 he had this to say:  

“Education is rather like a building, and is not much good unless

there is a sound foundation. You can put up a very showy

structure on a shaky foundation but the structure will not be very

much good if the foundation won't bear it up.

Similarly, unless education is based on sound teaching in the

early stages in elementary and preparatory schools like this, the

ultimate product will really not be educated. I am glad that more

attention is now being given to the education of quite small

children. When children are soundly taught in their more

youthful years, their education later on will certainly be much

more successful.”

This would seem as true today as it was when these words were originally spoken and as the school moves into its fourth quarter we would be well advised to remember that it is in the education of the children of Jamaica that our hopes for the future of our nation must rest.

Today we have a principal, full time and part time teachers and our student population is 540. A big difference isn't it? When you follow trends in education you will notice that specialist training in many areas is being emphasized today. Our present staff includes teachers who, in addition to their general training in education are specially trained in areas such as the education of very young children, Science, Art, Music, Curriculum Planning and Special Education. We started as a department of the High School and remained so for several years, but as the school grew it was obvious that the time would come when “the baby bird would have to leave the nest”. The process leading to full autonomy for the school was a gradual, well-thought-out and well planned one and actually took some 10 years to be completed. The Board of Management for the Preparatory School had its first meeting in June 1967.

But although we have now “grown up' our special relationship with the High School has remained intact a bond we value dearly. Our links too with our Founding Fathers, the Methodist and Presbyterian churches have been maintained throughout these 79years. They were looking way into the future when they founded the school.

Now to another aspect of our journey, as the school grew it became clear that a building programme had to be put in place and in 1933 the children moved into a brand new building the building which is now the main one in the Primary Department.  The building programme started in 1932 has never stopped, we added new classrooms to the Junior Department.

From a garage to classrooms, 2 Resource Rooms, a Computer Lab, a Science Room and a Media Room we have come a long way where buildings are concerned, but there is more work yet to be done. Our present hall is unable to accommodate both Primary and Junior Departments and their parents at any one time.  An Assembly Hall which will satisfy our need for adequate space for worship and other school functions must be next in the pipeline.

You will have observed the theme “Moulding the total child for excellence” for our 75th Anniversary in 2006.  We at St. Andrew Prep. believe that it is the total child with whom we are dealing. We must cater to his academic, social, emotional, physical and spiritual development at one and the same time. We cannot deal with just parts of him.

This is what we genuinely believe, this is what we stand for 79 years ago we took our first steps on our journey of 1000 miles and we still have a long way to go but do you know something? we are going to surpass the 1000 miles.