In 1900 Pretoria was captured by the British and the Transvaal became a British Colony, although the war dragged on. There was no school for English speaking pupils, so the Staatsmodelskool building was utilised for the purpose. The school opened on 3 June 1901 under the headmaster Charles Hope. The initial enrolment was 32 pupils, both boys and girls, which increased to 132 by August of that year. Mr Hope left 15 months later. The girls left the school at the same time. They moved to the old building of the Staatsmeisieskool and named it the Pretoria High School for Girls. The remaining classes were split into primary and high school and remained like this until 1905.

With the departure of the girls the enrolment fell to 84, but under the new headmaster, Harold Atkinson, the enrolment increased to 100 boys by 1903. The name of the school was also changed to the Pretoria College. Mr Atkinson left at the end of 1905 and was succeeded by J F Acheson who stayed with the school until it moved from Skinner Street.

Lord Milner was intent on creating a stable education system. For this reason, he set aside 200 hectares of ground to the south-east of what was then the town of Pretoria. The southernmost 60 hectares, which included the Waterkloof Kop, was to become the site where Pretoria Boys High School was to be built. The school’s design was done by Piercy Eagle who met the challenge admirably and produced an architectural masterpiece, in true English classical revival style. The position on the ridge was to give the school a dramatic setting, with the three original buildings (the main school building and the first boarding houses) forming a symmetrical whole.

At the beginning of 1909 General Smuts, then colonial secretary of the Transvaal, officially opened the doors of the school. A few days later 180 boys and staff of the Pretoria College moved into the building. On 6 April 1910, 100 boys and staff from Eendracht Hoërskool, moved into the building and the combined school was renamed Pretoria High School for Boys/Pretoria Hogerskool voor Jongens. The combination of English and Dutch may seem strange but this was just after the creation of the Union of South Africa and Smuts wanted to create unity from grass roots level. He sent his own sons to the school. Two boarding houses, Rissik and Solomon House were built in 1909 with the third, School House, established in 1914.

Smuts understood well the situation that the school was in and as a result, he handpicked the first headmaster of the institution. William Hendrik Hofmeyr became the school’s longest serving headmaster. He was Headmaster of the school for 25 years. Hofmeyr had seven sons and they all attended the school; three went on to become Rhodes Scholars. One of his sons, Will, became a member of staff and his involvement as a coach and teacher is renowned. The cricket oval named after him is regarded as one of the finest in the country.

Hofmeyr was succeeded by Daniel Duff Matheson. He took over the reins in 1935 and under him the enrolment increased from 450 to 800 boys. Matheson saw the school through the Second World War when once again the cost was felt and the school lost 93 Old Boys. Matheson left in 1949 and in 1960 a drinking fountain at the pavilion was erected in his memory. Matheson House (a day house) was later named in his honour.

The departure of Matheson brought along Noel M Pollock. He was the first Old Boy to assume the position of headmaster. Pollock’s time in office was marked by many changes in the country and he did well in maintaining morale within the school. In his final year, 1955, the First Cricket Team went through the season unbeaten. It was at about this time that Boys High had a run of great cricketers. Among others were Ken Funston, Eddie Barlow, Syd Burke, Glen Hall and Jackie Botten. Hockey was also introduced at the school and in 1976 Boys High became the first school to send a hockey team to England.

The next headmaster was yet another Old Boy, Desmond Abernethy, who left his post as an inspector to become a headmaster, a move he described as a “downward promotion”. Before Abernethy left in 1973, the school reached an enrolment high of 1000 boys and Art became a popular subject. Great schoolmasters of the time included Walter Battiss, Larry Scully and Clinton Harrop-Allin. Music also became popular and Boys High produced Leo Quayle, a renowned musician.

In the early 1960s, renovations began once again as new classrooms were built and the old school hall was demolished and the then “new hall” school hall, opened on 26 August 1964.

Malcolm Armstrong was the eighth headmaster of the school and only the second born in South Africa. Armstrong placed great emphasis on a balanced life and for this reason a great number of clubs and societies began during his term of office. During his administration a number of projects were undertaken, including the building of 13 staff houses, the gymnasium, two science laboratories, the new swimming pool and Loch Armstrong.

In 1990, Bill Schroder became headmaster. A former head prefect of Rondebosch Boys High, Mr Schroder was a positive headmaster who embraced change. He said the following about the school and its future, “I have no doubt that we can withstand any problems that the future may throw at us. I believe that a school such as ours must try to remain ahead of change, as it has in the past. I believe Boys High can become a genuine microcosm of the new South Africa.” During his time as headmaster the enrolment increased to over 1500 pupils and this growth was accompanied by an expansion of the house system with four new day houses being created. The school’s facilities were also much expanded with the addition of three sports fields, a rugby pavilion, a central dining hall and an artificial hockey field.

Mr Tony Reeler was appointed as the headmaster with effect from July 2010. Mr Reeler has been fully credited by his colleagues for having kept the School’s building project on track by ensuring the completion of the new school hall and media/music centre which was opened in 2016. Other legacies that Mr Reeler took with him are the introduction of A-level English and Mathematics; robust diversification of different cultures within the School; and maintenance of a now aged property. Full credit, for instance, needs to be given for the general upgrading of the buildings and grounds which are in pristine condition and the sandstone restoration of the main buildings.

Mr Greg Hassenkamp was appointed as the school’s current headmaster in 2020.