Royal College Port-Louis (Mauritius)

Infobox Secondary school
name = Royal College Port Louis
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motto = Vitae non scholae discendum
established = 1799
type = State High School
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rector = Kushiram
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address = Cassis
city = Port Louis
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country = Mauritius
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colours = White/Blue
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nickname = La School
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image_caption = Royal College Port Louis
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image_caption2 = Back view of Royal College Port Louis

The Royal College of Port Louis is a state owned boys high school located at Cassis, Mauritius. It is commonly referred to as RCPL. The first stone of the school's building at Cassis was laid by Princess Margaret during her first visit to Mauritius in 1956. Students of RCPL are often referred to as Royalists

RCPL is considered to be one of the most prestigious secondary institutions of the island. It admits only those having achieved the highest levels at the end of their Primary Education. As such, the college has formed many leaders of the country. RCPL has the tradition of Higher School Certificate laureates who compete for state scholarships for foreign tertiary education.

History

The creation of the college dates back to 1799 during the French colonisation period by Charles Isidor De Caen. The institution was then called "Lycée des Iles de France et de la Réunion", providing a primary and secondary education with a maximum capacity of 300 students.

In 1810, the island became an English colony. The institution’s name was thus changed to “Lycée Colonial”. As the English took full possession of the island, it became important for them to have an English name for the institution. Thus, in 1817, the college was renamed ‘’’Royal College of Mauritius’’’ following a decree from His Majesty the King of England. The school’s reputation and status grew with time, such that British students from Bourbon island (Now Réunion island), the Seychelles (which was then administered from Mauritius), from India and even from Batavia (Now called Djakarta) were admitted.

In 1810In 1815, a scholarship system was instituted, but the first laureate of the Royal College of Mauritius would be able to beneficiate from the scholarship only in 1817. In 1824, the college’s building was destroyed by a cyclone. The scholarship system was interrupted between 1827 and 1839 due to unknown reasons. After 1839, scholarships were regularly given to the best student of each year. Till 1865, all the exam papers were prepared and corrected in Mauritius.

In 1866, a malaria epidemic broke out in the capital Port-Louis. It was then decided to transform the building which housed the college into a hospital. The college was thus transferred to a new location in Port-Louis, but it was not to the taste of the officers whose children were the students as the location was not considered reputable. Another problem which arose was the acute lack of space due to an ever increasing number of new students. It was thus decided on the 1st May 1899 by the Legislative Council to move the ‘’’Royal College of Mauritius’’’ to Curepipe.

On the 1st October 1912, the first stone was laid and the construction was finished by 1914. As the students could not be transferred quickly and immediately, the new establishment was named Royal College School or simply La School. Due to the sheer number of pupils, even the new branch could not accommodate all the students. Thus, while waiting for extension work at the new building, the college was still very present in Port-Louis.

As the number of students seeking admission at the (original) Port-Louis branch of the Royal College of Mauritius was still very high, it was decided to build a completely new structure at a new location. Thus, in 1956, during her visit to the island Princess Margaret laid the first stone for the new and ultimate building of Royal College of Mauritius. Thus, to differentiate between the two Royal Colleges’, the names of the two establishments were changed to Royal College of Port-Louis and Royal College of Curepipe, after their respective locations.

Present Day

Both Royal Colleges’, Royal College of Port-Louis and Royal College of Curepipe are considered amongst the most prestigious and best secondary institutions of the island of Mauritius. Even if these two colleges share a common origin, students of each institution consider the other as great rivals, particularly when scholarships are attributed to the 15 best pupils (boy’s side) of the island at the end their Higher School Certificate.