KINGSTON College’s Purple Tie Gala Awards Banquet last Wednesday was meant to be the icing on the school’s 100th anniversary celebrations. That was until Michael Vaccianna, chairman of the school’s board of management, read Governor General Sir Patrick Allen’s letter proclaiming that April 16 each year will be recognised as Kingston College (KC) Day.

The announcement elicited a standing ovation and sustained applause from past and present students, teachers, family, and friends who packed the Jamaica Pegasus hotel ballroom.

More applause and nods of agreement greeted Vaccianna’s and Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness’s declaration that KC’s famed motto — Fortis cadere cedere non potest — is more than a maxim.

“It’s a way of life. It speaks to resilience, rising after every setback, and the courage of never giving up,” the prime minister said in his video-taped address to the banquet.

“It is a lived experience,” Vaccianna declared in his speech.

“Tonight we’re not simply commemorating the passage of 100 years, we are merely witness to the power of the vision, one that dared to believe that Jamaican boys, regardless of circumstance or station, deserve access to world-class education. It was a radical idea in 1925 Jamaica when then Rev Percival Gibson, a man of foresight and conviction, as our founding headmaster, ignited a flame…. That flame has guided Kingston College for a century, inviting countless young men to find purpose, dignity and respect,” Vaccianna said.

He acknowledge the unrelenting dedication of the school’s teachers and administrators; the tireless support of parents; the steadfast commitment of old boys; and the “bright, talented, courageous young men who are carrying forward the Fortis legacy in their own remarkable ways”.

“This centenary moment challenges us to reflect and also act, as the legacy we honour tonight was not forged by chance but by sacrifice, persistence, and belief,” Vaccianna said.

“And so, as we turn the page to a new century we are called to be just as courageous and just as visionary as our founders,” he added.

He said the centenary development programme that the school has established is an ambitious, strategic blueprint to ensure that KC remains a leader in education, innovation, and moral outreach.

He charged KC old boys, parents, and friends at home and in the Diaspora to feel the pull of Fortis pride and purpose and urged, “Let us reinvest in the greatness that is Kingston College so that our sons, grandsons, and generations to come can inherit a future as bold and as brilliant as our past.”

Holness, in his address, noted Bishop Gibson’s role in the founding of KC, Bishop Gibson High School, and Church Teachers’ College, and said his contribution to education in Jamaica “remains among the most significant in our nation’s history”.

Holness described KC’s contribution to Jamaica as far-reaching, noting that the all-boys’ high school has produced men who have distinguished themselves in public service, academia, the arts, and civil society — whether by shaping policy or inspiring through culture and sports.

“Fortis men have left an indelible mark on Jamaica,” he said, adding that wherever they go they carry with them the values of discipline, service, and excellence instilled in them.

Stating that KC, “has distinguished itself as much on the global stage as it has on local soil” Holness said, “Perhaps the greater achievement of Kingston College is not just its academic prowess and sports achievements but the unbreakable school spirit, the loyalty, the pride, and the unity that binds a generation of Fortis men together.”

Opposition Leader Mark Golding, who also brought greetings, said he had great admiration for “the amazing legacy” KC has created, “the way in which its old boys identify so strongly with the institution, and the strength of the bonds that it has managed to create among its alumni”.

That, he said, “must be incredibly inspiring for the young men who pass through the institution to know that they are part of something that has this amazing energy and glue that keeps their KC family together… It is something that is definitely a positive for Jamaica”.

He, too, hailed Bishop Gibson as a “great nation builder”, and shared that his decision to become an attorney was influenced by his interaction with KC old boy, Professor Stephen Vasciannie, Jamaica’s former ambassador to the United States.

Principal Dave Myrie outlined six pillars — focus on academic excellence, enhanced education management, infrastructural and physical development, integration of information and communication technology, and financial sustainability — which, he said, will guide KC’s further development.

“These pillars are not mere aspirations, they’re actionable commitments and will shape the trajectory of Kingston College, ensuring that we remain a beacon of excellence for generations to come,” Myrie said, adding “The work has already started.”

Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, in her remarks, said, “KC continues to stand out in the education of our boys. What you are doing is indeed God’s work.”

She said the accomplishments of KC past students are testament to the school’s enduring impact and proof that it can provide young boys with the tools to become gentlemen at the top of their field of choice.

“From producing five Rhodes Scholars to nurturing leaders in politics, law, science, arts, and sports, the influence of Kingston College resonates both nationally and internationally,” Morris Dixon said.

She shared that she has had the privilege of working with many KC past students, namely Justice Minister Delroy Chuck; Professor Vasciannie who was her lecturer at The University of the West Indies; former Senator Ransford Braham; former Minister of Industry Anthony Hylton, who gave her the opportunity to grow when she was a young vice-president at Jampro; Opposition Senator Damion Crawford who, she said, is as passionate about education as she is; and Professor Orlando Patterson, saying that she now has the honour of working with the permanent secretary and the team in the ministry to implement the Patterson Report on education reform.

On April 16, 1925 KC was declared open at 114 ¾ East Street, with 49 students. Today the school has more than 9,000 students at its two campuses — the main one at 2A North Street, and the other at 13 Upper Elleston Road known as Melbourne.