Background Information

Duke Town Secondary School is in the heart of the ancient and historical city of Calabar (fondly referred to as Mission Hill) and is managed by the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (formerly Church of Scotland Mission). It is a Mixed-Day school. The history of the school dates back to 1846 at the advent of the early missionaries from the Church of Scotland Mission at the formal request by the kings and chiefs of Old Calabar. The school is noted for hard work, discipline and industry.

School Brief History

On the 6th day of January 1846, the little band of missionaries left Liverpool in the ship called Warree after a solemn prayer by Rev. Dr. G. Chrichton. The team comprised of the Rev. Hope Masterton Waddell (Leader), Mr. Samuel Edgerley (Printer/Catechist), Mrs. Edgerley, Andrew Chisolm (Carpenter), Edward Miller (Teacher) a West Indian and little boy George making the great mission to Old Calabar and leading to the founding of the Duke Town School on the strong written request by the Kings and Chiefs of Old Calabar.

On arrival at the estuary of the Calabar River, they were conducted by the government steamer called the Ethiope to Duke Town and were received ashore by King Eyamba (V) in his beautiful iron palace and treated to a state reception in the evening of the same day being April 10, 1846. The following day, the missionaries inspected the land area donated for settlement of the mission which is currently occupied by the Duke Town Presbyterian manse and Duke Town Secondary School.

Happily, Rev. Hope Masterton Waddell recorded in his book that ‘…Mr. Edgerley commenced a school in a vacant building Eyamba gave him near his own’. Also, Rev. William Dickie’s statement in the annals of Old Calabar published in Edinburgh states that the ‘…School opened at Duke Town on May 6, 1846’. Therefore, we thankfully celebrate our Founder’s day on sixth day of May every year. Welcome to Duke Town School!