Falcon College (or simply Falcon) is an independent boarding school for boys and girls aged 12–18 in the southern Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe. It was founded in 1954 near Essexvale, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Esigodini, Zimbabwe), 55 km southeast of Bulawayo on the remains of the Bushtick Mine. The college's graduates include a British member of parliament, surgeons and doctors, leaders of industry and commerce, soldiers and educators. The college has 40 km² of Matabeleland bush, 10 km² approximately is game fenced and houses Quiet Waters game park. The park contains examples of most of Zimbabwe’s plains game species, including zebra, giraffe, kudu, impala, tsessebe, bushbuck and warthog. The campus is surrounded by an electric fence (a reminder of the bush war of pre-1980). An air strip is nearby. The school's motto is Sic itur ad astra and the school badge is a representation of a Lanner Falcon designed by the wife of a former Headmaster. Falcon College was ranked as one of the Top 10 High Schools in Zimbabwe in 2014. Falcon College is a member of the Association of Trust Schools (ATS) and the Headmaster is a member of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe (CHISZ). In December 2015 Falcon became a coeducational school accepting girls in January 2016. Historical background Originally Bushtick Mine, and with 36 boys and a handful of staff, the college was founded on Wednesday 3 February 1954. It was opened by the Governor General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Lord Llewellin, on Saturday 10 April 1954. Much has changed since then but the college has some remains of its founding days. The original motto was Arduus ad Solem. The newer Motto is: Sic Itur Ad Astra The school motto comes from the words of Virgil (70-19BC) a classical Roman poet who wrote: “nova virtute, puer; sic itur ad astra” which translates: Look to your new-found courage, young man, for that is the way to the stars. In the beginning, the boys were divided into three colour groups for sport, Whites, Blues, and Khakis. Later, the houses were named A,B,C, and D, and in April 1956, Sir Robert Clarkson Tredgold, Chairman of the Board of Governors, announced that the houses were to be renamed Hervey, Oates, Tredgold, and Founders. Founders was so named to commemorate the Founders of the School; Tredgold after Sir Robert Clarkson Tredgold, who