Location: Stabroek, Georgetown
Classification: Educational
Period/ Year Built: Established 1868, current building completed circa 1907
Historical Background / Description:
St. Stanislaus College is located at the corner of Brickdam and Magnet Place, in Stabroek, Georgetown. The school is the first all-boys educational institution to be established by the Jesuits in British Guiana. It was founded on May 1, 1866, by Father Langthon. It started with just two boys named Marshall and Pairadeau, on the ground floor of a cathedral that was built by the Jesuits on Brickdam. The institution in its early days was known as the St. Stanislaus Grammar School; it was named after a Polish nobleman, Stanislaus Kostka. The school’s population increased significantly by 1868 and was considered to be on par with other Jesuit schools in England.
In 1866, the school moved from Brickdam to Main Street, but by 1869, it moved again to Waterloo Street. The institution spent some 17-18 years at this location before moving back to Brickdam where the old St. Mary’s Secondary School was located. The institution stayed at the Brickdam and Camp Streets location until 1907 when it moved to the lower Brickdam area to its current location after the completion of the building circa 1907, and was renamed St. Stanislaus College. By 1957, the school began receiving aid from the colonial Government. In 1975, it admitted the first batch of female students and by 1976, it became a government run institution. Over time, the school underwent a number of extensions. Features of the main three-storey timber building include fretworks, wide overhangs (shading devices), and a statue of St. Mary. Today the school remains one of Guyana’s pre-eminent public educational institutions.
