基本資料 | Information
In January 1926 the P.E. Secondary School was opened in the old hospital buildings on Richmond Hill, with an enrolment of 35 pupils, both girls and boys. The founder principal was Mr Leo Deary. The school moved in July 1927, to the Grey Institute buildings on the Donkin. In January 1928 the school was named Pearson High School after the Hon. William Pearson, who served as mayor of Port Elizabeth for 16 years.
Afrikaans was recognized as a medium of instruction in South African schools until standard six, but in 1928 fifteen Port Elizabeth pupils wished to continue their schooling further through the medium of Afrikaans. Pearson was the only school in Port Elizabeth able to manage this. In 1938, under the headmastership of Mr H. Bezemer (1938 – 1947), the first Afrikaans-medium class passed the Senior Certificate examination. At this stage our enrolment figure stood at 575 and Pearson was the only parallel-medium high school in the Eastern Cape and Border area with classes offered in both languages in all standards.
Pearson had become the high school with the highest enrolment in the province. As extra accommodation was needed, a new school was built in Bayview Avenue (now Erica Girls’ School). The school moved to this site in 1941.