St. George's College is a public Catholic secondary school, located in Kingston, Jamaica. The school was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1850. It was established by 21 Spanish Jesuits who had been exiled from Colombia as part of a religious persecution. Initially founded as a school for boys only, in 2005 the College opened its pre-university programme (Sixth Form) to female students. The school is one of the oldest and most respected learning institutions in the country, having produced at least six Rhodes Scholars. History Early beginnings St. George's Colonial College was founded in 1850 by twenty-one Spanish Jesuits who had been exiled from Colombia as part of a religious persecution. The Colombian Government had given them approximately nine hours to leave the country by any means possible. After they failed to leave, due to unavailability of transportation, the government extended their time to 48 hours; within the 48-hour time, a lone ship was leaving for Jamaica, which they boarded. At their head was Fr. Emmanuel Gil, S.J., a distinguished scholar and former court preacher to the King of Spain. Amidst a storm of protest against Roman Catholic priests opening Jamaica's first secondary institution for classical and scientific education, St. George's College began its long and proud history. The early years of the school's life were uncertain, as it was closed several times in the first few decades of its existence, but the principal at that time bought the present property where the school stands to this day. On 2 September 1850, in a rented house at 26 North Street, located on the southeast corner of North and Orange Streets, the new college opened with thirty-eight-day students and thirty boarders. The first subjects taught at St. George's included Latin, Greek, French, English, rhetoric, history, mathematics, logic, metaphysics, ethics, drawing, and calligraphy. After only two years, the Spanish Jesuits, led by founder Fr. Gil, S.J., departed Jamaica to teach in Guatemala, turning St. George's over to the English Jesuits. They left primarily because of the difficulties in language, with English being a second language to them. The school moved to 5 Upper King Street and changed its name to the "St. George's Presbytery Secondary School". There it remained until January 1866 when, for reasons which remain unclear, it was closed. A few months later, thanks to Fr. James Jones, S.J., the school reopened with twenty-five students and moved back