A Brief Review of the History of the EGC
Taking you back in time
I will take you in time to revive your dearest and sweetest memories. I will take you to a world of magic and innocence in a world of the past. It is the magnificent and glorious years of the old EGC. So let the magic reign and take us back in time.
The beginning
The ENGLISH GIRLS’ COLLEGE was founded in 1935 to commemorate the SILVER JUBILEE of King George V, king of England at that time, and Egypt was one of the protectorates of the United Kingdom.
In the year 1935, the Board of Directors of VICTORIA COLLEGE which had been founded before the EGC to attract the future kings and princes of the Middle East brought forth the idea of having a sister school for the young ladies of the elite society of the Middle East. A site was chosen, in Chatby, and while the building of the most up to date and most sophisticated school started, a villa in Zizinia belonging to Mr. Zervadacki was rented for two years as a temporary premises for the college.
From the old files: Samira Abou El Kheir: the first president of the old EGC association: “My father Abou El Kheir Pasha, being a member of the board, was very enthusiastic about it, and he at once registered my eldest sister Samia and myself as the two first girls in the school.
The buildings were designed by the English architect M. GREY WORNUM in the Spanish-Arabisc style of architecture”. In the most modern style at that time in all respects, it was designed to accommodate a maximum of 1000 pupils. The buildings stood over 20 feddans of land, donated by the governorate of Alexandria.
Now the college accommodates 5000 and going up. Needless to say, 6 more buildings have been added, the sixth rebuilt to double its original size. The 20 feddans had gone up to the main boulevard “AbouKeir Avenue”. Unfortunately, the minister of education at that time donated a big section to the faculty of science where it stands today.
The buildings
The buildings soon became too small for the growing demands for a school like the EGC with its high standards of education and the new image it and of the girls who graduated from it. Although we had a lot of language schools, still the EGC had its special style and profile that attracted the parents who wanted their daughters to be active members in society if not in jobs at least in charity associations that were very useful and really helped with building of our social standards.
In 1950 an Annex was built with its garden to house the KG department. At the same time the staff house the only building at the southern part of the huge garden, that had started as the boarding house for the British staff, who came to Alexandria from the UK to teach fro two years terms. An institute was started there as a finishing school for girls, teaching languages, English, French, Italian and German, plus shorthand and typing and cookery and sewing. When the institute was reinstalled in the main building near the entrance, the building was enlarged by adding four classrooms on the ground floor and adding the same on the second floor to house the junior school.
In 1969 the lower junior building went up in front of the upper junior building. Ten years later the Ann Khalafallah building for the Middles was built, and the Middle school left the main building to be a department on its own. One of the EGC girls who had graduated came to visit her old school. She came with her husband, “Al Amir Turk” (from Saudi Arabia). The young wife gave the school a present to fund a new building, which was called “Samaher” the name of her daughter. The Middle school then took Samaher building so that all the Middle school can be together in Samaher and Ann Khalafallah buildings plus all their facilities, namely a large gymnasium, two science laboratories, a computer lab, a library, a domestic science department and an art room.
When the GCE was cancelled a new certificate was already on its way in the UK, called GCSE. The IGCSE the international equivalent to Egypt in 1990 in Cairo in a few schools and a year later it came to Alexandria in the EGC, the first school to get the license from the Egyptian ministry of education and the Cambridge examination syndicate. Later the Maritime Academy joined forces and then other schools later. The EGC is very proud of its IGCSE as they have reached very standards of achievement, and the EGC results were and still are from the top grades internationally.
In 1996/1997 an activity block was built to serve the growing and well known EGC activities in the teaching of practical subjects in the junior department. When completed spacious music rooms, a computer lab and a science lab all very well equipped.
Today, the EGC is five schools in one but each one completely separate in administration, teacher and facilities: Secondary, IGCSE, Preparatory, Primary and Kindergarten.
From the V shaped driveway.
As soon as you enter the V shaped driveway, you cold see the green grass on the slope, the pretty green rooftops and the salmon pink walls, the tower adding the final touch. The headmistress’ villa, on the left, a grand little villa with creepers on its outside walls, and overlooking its beautiful garden with rare palm trees and trees that blossom into the most delightful colours. On the right you have a semi circular part of the main building: The music room down and the Art room with solarium windows for our young artists.
When you enter the building itself, you will find the big entrance hall. On your left there is the door of the library which leads to a long corridor full of books, down the stairs there is a big area with long tables and chairs for reading (it is well stocked with rare and also very up to date books). Back to the entrance hall, there is the patio just in front of it, with its magnificent blue mosaic pillars. Standing in the patio you have the little garden with a fountain right in the middle of the building. Two sides have classes, in three floors, over looking the fountain, and the gymnasium on the far right. Over the gymnasium there were and still are the science laboratories. On the life (still in the patio) steps lead down to the dining room where the tables for 8 were round and polished. When you walk up to the end of the patio you find the big doors of the theatre, which has long windows overlooking the garden. Many Shakespearian plays and others were acted there, which the EGC is famous for. At the end of the patio on the right at the end of a long corridor of classes you come out of the building to find the turquoise blue swimming pool, with a fountain of the side always sprinkling water. (in the older days, not any more). The green background is of splendid wide-open playgrounds and courts of the different sports. They were divided into the many different games: Netball – Hockey – Tennis, with enough space and more to spare for the girls to sit during the morning break: Their homemade British snacks were served in the dinning room. Lunch was served in the dinning room with a British teacher at every table supervising the eight girls with her. A hot lunch was server, very British indeed. The menus were dishes like steak and kidney pies, apple pies with fresh cream on top cinnamon cakes with hot custard to serve on top of it, bananas fried in batter with sugar and cream on top. Tall “Sofragies” dressed in long white “Kaftans” served it. There was time for the garden in the hour and a half lunch break. At the end of the garden, there was the “Shack” for the girl scouts. It was a nice hide out for the girls when they wanted to have a dish party on their own. Behind the tennis courts there was a flower garden, a shrubbery for the rare trees and plants there. There was and still is till today, a tree that blossoms into the most romantic lilac flowers and fills the garden when they fall, just outside the huge hay window of the theatre.
The Aim of Building the College.
It was a British school, in all respects. It followed the British system of education to educate a very select group of girls. The aim was not only to prepare its students for examinations but also to elate them culturally, building in them strong principles of integrity and love of mankind and the Earth we live in (that came later with the global village). They were taught how to become prominent members of the society they live in. They were encouraged to plan for their future role in society, a society that was healthy with a warm atmosphere for young people to fulfill their dreams.
To be an EGC graduate was quite an honour and had a high standing in society. Today you can find EGC graduates in the United Nations, WHO in Switzerland and university professors Alexandria university, AUC (American University Cairo) and many universities around the world, in all fields of medicine, engineering, and the arts etc. A good number of the graduates are foremost women in society.
The EGC continued to prosper for 21 years. It became one of the leading schools in the Middle East, famous for its cultural and academic excellence in all fields. It attracted young ladies from all over the world especially the royal families of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and the Emirates. In the early 50’s we had queen Sofia of Spain as a KG pupil, she was a Greek princes then. Thus the boarding house flourished with its special staff of Matron, doctor etc., it was on the last floor, and the two wings, around the dinning room from the back were study rooms and sitting rooms for the boarders.
For the first 21 years, the college was run on the rules & regulations, life & thought of a British Public School. (In England Public Schools were the private select schools). Students studied for Oxford and Cambridge examinations, played British games like Hockey and Netball (not Basketball) and learnt to have “a sportive spirit”, that is British wise being “a good sport”. The young ladies of the college were made to feel that their cultural background was when all’s said and done fundamentally British, when they traveled to London, they felt comfortable and at home, They knew the people the culture the buildings and the important places to go and where to buy the good stuff or the elegant or select. The young ladies were introduced to the British culture with its jokes (a bit dry sometimes but deep in meaning) and humour, its folklore and nursery rhymes. There was a two years “Lower six & upper six” as a finishing schools for girls. They were after you qualify for entering the Egyptian university. There was a system of “HOUSE”: the whole school was divided into four houses:
Plantagenet – Windsor – Tudor – Stewart
You gained points for you “HOUSE” for exceptional work academically, in sports and in anything done school. You could lose points for conduct or bad marks etc., at the end there was an annual cup for the “HOUSE” that got the most points.
The Headmistresses of the College.
Miss Melvaine (1934 – 1940) was to become the first headmistress of the EnglishCollege for Girls.
In 1935 she was the headmistress in the villa in Zizinia and continued to be the headmistress in the main EGC building in Chatby. She was asked to name the school, so consulting her students, she settled for:
ENGLISH GIRLS’ COLLEGE
Instead of “English College for Girls”. Although she was always open to suggestions and ready to take others opinion, she had a very charismatic and strong personality. She loved sports, which ever since became an integral profile of the EGC profiles until today.
Miss Inman (1940 – 1946)
Miss Bloxhum (1946 – 1952) she got the title “Lady”.
Miss Wooldridge (1952 – 1956)
Miss Aziza Rashed (1956 – 1959)
Miss Ann Khalafallah (1959 – 1982)
Miss Enaam El Defrawi (1982 – 2005)
Miss Amina El Dib (2005 – Now)
The famous graduates
– Queen Sofia , Queen of Spain She is currently the honorary president of the Association of Graduates
– Samira Khashasqy , deceased , Saudi , the owner of ” EL Sharkeya ” Magazine
– Mrs. Laila Badawy , the wife of the President of the League of the Arab States / Amr Mousa .
– Mrs. Ezdehar Abou AL Ela The wife of the former minister of Electricity / Maher Abaza
– Mrs. Mona Makram obeid , the former member of People’s Assembly.
– Mrs. Maysoon Shaas and Mrs. Noha Shaas , Dr. Nabil Shaas’ sisters , The advisor of the Palestinian president , Yaser Arafat.
-Mrs. Sherine Zein, Eng.Gamal EL- Sadat’s wife.
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