Mt. Alvernia High School began in 1925 as St. James Academy, a small boarding school, and was soon after renamed
Mt. Alvernia Academy. It was established by the Allegany Franciscan
Sisters to fill the need for the Cambridge University Junior Examinations and the London Royal School of Music Examinations.
The number of students attending classes increased steadily over the years.
In 1939 Mother Antoninus succeeded Mother
Theophane as Principal. The school population was only twenty-seven. In 1943 a centre for the Music examinations of the Royal
Schools of Music was established at Mt. Alvernia and soon after, the school was considered capable
of presenting candidates for the Cambridge School Certificate Examinations.
In 1953, Sr. Eloine Marie became Principal
of the school and immediately began working towards having Mt. Alvernia established as a grant-in-aid school. The curriculum
was further enlarged and qualified teachers with degrees were employed in order to meet the requirements of the Ministry of
Education. Finally in August 1959, Mt. Alvernia became a grant-aided school with an enrollment
of 71. Since then, the school population increased even more rapidly and new blocks of classrooms were erected to keep pace
with the growing numbers.
In 1971 Sr. Joan Clare was appointed Principal and over the next fifteen years the enrolment
increased from 347 to 1,516. A new wing consisting of three floors was built and a third floor was later added to the old
wing. A few notable achievements over the years are as follows:
1960 - First Graduation
1966 - Became Examination Centre for Cambridge O
Level examinations
1968 - Sixth Form established
1970 - Commercial Department was expanded
1972 - French added to the curriculum
1979 - Social Studies added to the curriculum
1983 - German added to the curriculum
1988 - Computer Studies added to the curriculum
Extra-curricular activities have also flourished over the years and students have participated in several inter-schools
competitions with success. With the opening of the Montego Bay Community College in 1978 the Sixth Form was closed. French and German
have been removed from the curriculum because of an acute shortage of teachers.
The untiring efforts of dedicated
members of Staff working with our students ensure that a rich history continues to be written.
