St. John's College, Belize

St. John's College

Logo of St. John's College
Motto	Men And Women For Others
Type	Private
Established	1887; 130 years ago (1887)
Affiliation	Jesuit (Roman Catholic)
President	Mirtha Peralta
Students	2600
Location	Belize City, Belize
Campus	Urban
Colors	Navy Blue & White
Nickname	SJC, St. John's, John's
Sports	Basketball, football, softball, volleyball, track & field
Website	sjc.edu.bz

St. John's College has three divisions, and a number of central academic centres and activities. Through its three divisions, it offers a wide variety of liberal arts and science courses at the secondary, British A-level, and United States junior college levels. St. John's College is a Roman Catholic institution in the Jesuit tradition, one of the oldest, largest, and most diverse educational institutions in Belize, founded by the Jesuits in 1887.

The three divisions of St. John's College are:

Key Centres and Institutes of St. John's College are:

St. John's College was founded in 1887 with the establishment of the “Select School” for young men at the Catholic presbytery, Holy Redeemer Cathedral in Belize City. The founder of St. John's College was Fr. Cassian Gillett, one of four brothers, British Jesuit priests, who arrived in Belize in the 1880s. The school opened with twelve day-students and two boarders. According to the 1897 prospectus, the school’s mission was “to afford the youth of the Colony, and the neighboring Republics, the means of obtaining a solid mental and moral training.” It added that Belize needed “a school of Higher Studies so that our youth would not have to go abroad for preparation for university work.” The school grew quickly. In February 1896, it moved into a newly constructed building on the cathedral grounds. Its name changed from the Select School to St. John’s College, under Fr. William J. Wallace. The enrollment continued to expand, and included boarding students from neighboring Central American republics such as Guatemala and Honduras. This steady expansion forced a second move, to seafront land supplied by the government to the south of town. On July 17, 1917, the faculty and students moved into spacious wooden buildings with wide verandahs and windows open to the sea breeze. The campus was called Loyola Park. More construction followed including a gymnasium and chapel. By 1929 there were 90 students at the College.