Brief History of Hampton School for Girls
Hampton School for girls began in 1858 on the campus of the Potsdam College’ (now Munro College) in St. Elizabeth, with Miss Elizabeth Ramson as Headmistress. The school was established with the funds bequeathed by Robert Munro in his will dated January 21st 1797 to his nephew Caleb Dickenson. The funds were to be used to establish a school for the education of the poor children of St. Elizabeth. This was not done until 1856 when a boys’ school was established in Black River. In 1857, the school was removed to Potsdam (an old coffee property) and in 1858, a girls’ school with fewer than twelve students was set up on the same campus as the boys’ school. (The girls’ school was set up on the site of the present headmaster’s house). The girls’ school was later removed to Torrington (for a short while) and then to Mt-Zion (a short distance from the boys’ school). After twenty-five years, as Headmistress, Miss Ramson resigned and the school was moved to Malvern House in 1885 with Miss McCutcheon as Headmistress. January 1890 saw a change when Mrs. Julia Comrie and a Headmistress: Miss Geddes ran the school. In 1891 the school made its final move to Hampton (Fort Rose) and was officially named Hampton School for Girls after the property owned by the Boxer Family. When Mr. Boxer died, the Munroe and Dickenson Trust bought the property (1896) for ₤800.
Hampton School is now home of over 1200 ladies with representation from 14 parishes. The school continues to “grow and flourish” blessed with a well-trained, committed and forward-thinking staff. It is guided by a visionary and proactive Board, which is chaired by Mr. Wesley Barrett, OD. With its strong and varied extra-curricular components, Hampton School today ranks in the top five High Schools in the island, academically.