Royal College Port Louis

Royal College Port Louis
File:Rcpllogo.gif
Address
Cassis Port Louis Mauritius
Information
Type	State High School, National College, Star College, Form Six College
Motto	Vitae non scholae discendum (Learn for life not for School)
Established	1799
School district	Port-Louis
Rector	M. Kushiram
Gender	Male
Colour(s)	White & Navy blue
Nickname	La School

The Royal College of Port Louis is a state owned boys high school located at Cassis, Mauritius. It is commonly referred to as RCPL. The first stone of the school's building at Cassis was laid by Princess Margaret during her first visit to Mauritius in 1956.

RCPL is considered to be one of the most prestigious secondary institutions of the island. It admits only those having achieved the highest levels at the end of their Primary Education. RCPL has a tradition of Higher School Certificate laureates who compete for state scholarships providing access to foreign tertiary education.

History

The creation of the college dates back to 1799 during the French colonisation period by Charles Isidor De Caen. The institution was then called "Lycée des Iles de France et de la Réunion", providing a primary and secondary education with a maximum capacity of 300 students.

In 1810, the island became an English colony. The institution’s name was thus changed to “Lycée Colonial”. As the English took full possession of the island, it became important for them to have an English name for the institution. Thus, in 1817, the college was renamed ‘’’Royal College of Mauritius’’’ following a decree from His Majesty the King of England. The school’s reputation and status grew with time, such that British students from Bourbon island (Now Réunion island), the Seychelles (which was then administered from Mauritius), from India and even from Batavia (Now called Djakarta) were admitted.

In 1815, a scholarship system was instituted, but the first laureate of the Royal College of Mauritius would be able to beneficiate from the scholarship only in 1817. In 1824, the college’s building was destroyed by a cyclone. The scholarship system was interrupted between 1827 and 1839 due to unknown reasons. After 1839, scholarships were regularly given to the best student of each year. Till 1865, all the exam papers were prepared and corrected in Mauritius.

In 1866, a malaria epidemic broke out in the capital Port-Louis. It was then decided to transform the building which housed the college into a hospital. The college was thus transferred to a new location in Port-Louis, but it was not to the taste of the officers whose children were the students as the location was not considered reputable. Another problem which arose was the acute lack of space due to an ever increasing number of new students. It was thus decided on the 1st May 1899 by the Legislative Council to move the ‘’’Royal College of Mauritius’’’ to Curepipe.

On the 1st October 1912, the first stone was laid and the construction was finished by 1914. As the students could not be transferred quickly and immediately, the new establishment was named Royal College School or simply La School. Due to the sheer number of pupils, even the new branch could not accommodate all the students. Thus, while waiting for extension work at the new building, the college was still very present in Port-Louis.

As the number of students seeking admission at the (original) Port-Louis branch of the Royal College of Mauritius was still very high, it was decided to build a completely new structure at a new location. Thus, in 1956, during her visit to the island Princess Margaret laid the first stone for the new and ultimate building of Royal College of Mauritius'.

In 1970, the Royal College Port Louis swooped on all the 4 State Scholarships at stake on the boys' side (Also, that year, The Loreto College of Curepipe secured 1 scholarship and the other one was obtained by the Queen Elizabeth College.) In 1973, the Royal College Port Louis was honorably chosen to host the OCAMM Summit ('Organisation Commune Africaine, Malgache et Mauricienne'). 1979 marked the history of Royal College Port Louis as the school's 50th Anniversary was celebrated with great pomp, with some of the highest dignitaries of the island, including the then Prime Minister. In December 1999, in the context of its 70th anniversary,the Royal College Port Louis was honoured with 'The Medal of the City of Port-Louis'. A grand ceremony took place at the Municipality to mark the occasion.

Later, in 2001, the school had the visit of the Manchester United Academy team. Two years later, Royal College Port Louis became a 'Form Six School' with no students admitted in Form 1. Yet, in 2005, the school underwent a change - Form 1 classes were reintroduced in Royal College Port Louis (and other 'star schools' such as Royal College Curepipe, Queen Elizabeth College, John Kennedy College). Thus, the school became a 'national college' and it was then in January 2007 that the first batch of Form 1 students after the reform were admitted.

Present day

Both Royal Colleges, Royal College of Port-Louis and Royal College of Curepipe are considered as the most prestigious secondary institutions of Mauritius. Both RCC and RCPL share a common origin, students of each institution consider the other as union with a twist of rivalry. Scholarships are attributed to the 14 best pupils (boy’s side) of the island for their High School Certificate performances and the two institutions normally share most of the scholarships annually.

Alumni

The Royal College of Port Louis has an active alumni association the Royal College of Port-Louis Alumni Association, commonly called the Old Royals or RCPL Old Boys.

See also

• Complete List of Secondary Schools (Mauritius & Rodrigues)