Kingston College (KC) officially launched its centenary celebrations on Thursday announcing plans to construct a multi-purpose, state-of-the auditorium and a drive to raise $1 billion that will be used to build that facility and fund other legacy projects.

The centenary festivities will run through to April 16, 2025, the actual anniversary of the famous all-boys’ school’s founding, and are being held under the theme ‘Kingston College: 100 years never yielding’, playing on the school’s motto — Fortis cadere cedere non potest, which translates to English ‘The brave may fall but never yield’.

Past students, chairman of the school board Michael Vaccianna; Principal Dave Myrie; Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Marsh Smith; permanent secretary in the ministry Dr Kasan Troupe; United States Ambassador to Jamaica Nickolas Perry, himself a KC old boy; and other members of the KC family filled the Montego Suite at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston for the launch which was also watched by hundreds of KC past students abroad via live stream.

Among the features of the event, emceed by KC old boy and veteran broadcaster Ed Barnes, was the official launch of the centenary logo, website and Instagram account.

Myrie acknowledged the significance of the milestone for the school, saying that the planned celebratory activities will showcase KC’s spirit of unity.

“Throughout the calendar year of 2025 we have created a diverse and exciting array of events and activities to mark this historic milestone. From academic forums to cultural celebrations, sports competitions and community service initiatives, our centenary celebrations will be a testament to the holistic development that Kingston College has always stood for,” he said.

Vaccianna highlighted the planned construction of the auditorium.

“Our major project, which will be done to the benefit of students, faculty and our community in general, is the construction of our state-of-the-art auditorium on our North Street campus… so far the centenary committee has received contributions of $20 million — $10 million each from two old boys,” Vaccianna announced.

Architect Douglas Stiebel explained that the auditorium is set to be a multi-purpose building that can accommodate up to 5,000 people in assembly.

“It is a building which is being designed to be very multi-purpose because we all understand that the needs of the school are many and the needs for spaces are many. The whole idea of the building is that it will be able to first and foremost house the school, house all of the activities in terms of assembly, prize-givings [and] public functions, but it must also be able to act as a gymnasium so indoor basketball courts and other multi-purpose courts will also feature as a part of it,” he explained.

Stiebel added that the new auditorium will give the school the flexibility to move stages and equipment into designated storage spaces whilst a few classrooms will be built to facilitate learning.

Guest speaker, former West Indies fast bowler and retired cricket commentator, Michael Holding, who also attended KC, commended the old boys’ association for their efforts in upholding the school’s reputation.

“A lot of high schools look at us and although a few may be envious, the vast majority take our example as something to strive towards. They appreciate how devoted we are to our school and some jokingly refer to us as a clan or a cult, but knowing that we are never unfriendly to those, hence there are so many that never attended Kingston College that still consider themselves a part of the family,” Holding said in his virtual address.

He appealed to stakeholders to continue building on the great foundation set by the institution so the school can look forward to the next 100 years.

“We will have had a great 100 years by the time April 2025 rolls around, but now we have to look forward to the next 100 years and see if we can make them even greater. In that respect, we are hoping to continue that legacy of giving a helping hand, and this early launch of the centenary celebrations is to help us to sensitise the community, home and abroad, as we look to raise funds from our immediate Fortis family, extended Fortis family, corporate Jamaica, international sponsors and education stakeholders towards what we are hoping to be our legacy project of a 5,000-seat auditorium,” he said.

Ambassador Perry and Minister Smith also praised the school for its achievements, so too did Opposition spokesman on education Damion Crawford in a virtual message.

Entertainment was provided by the KC Chapel Choir, the KC Dancers, and vocal group Nomadz.