A group of prominent individuals established Bernard Mizeki College, comprising both European and African, as well as male and female, staff, with the vision of creating a leading high school for African boys. From its inception, the school was intended to evolve into a multiracial and internationally oriented institution. The founders were inspired by the political and social transformations sweeping across Africa and were committed to offering an education of equal quality to that afforded to European students. They aimed to nurture well-rounded African leaders across a range of fields, including finance, industry, business, education, medicine, law, the military, and politics. The Right Reverend
Cecil Alderson, following the example of his predecessor, Bishop
Edward Paget, recognized the urgent need for a senior college for African students. After his translation from the Diocese of
Bloemfontein, Bishop Alderson actively pursued this objective. At the same time, Canon Robert Grinham, a longstanding advocate for African education, had been championing the establishment of institutions with facilities on par with those of elite schools such as
Ruzawi,
Springvale, and
Peterhouse. Upon his retirement from Springvale, Grinham dedicated his efforts fully to this cause. Together, Bishop Alderson and Canon Grinham raised £100 to establish the
Bernard Mizeki Schools Trust, which was mandated to oversee the founding of the new institution. The trust deed was drafted by the legal firm Honey and Blanckenberg and officially registered in 1959. A separate trust under the same name was registered in the United Kingdom in July 1962 under trust number 313889. During the Lambeth Conference in London, Bishop Alderson received a pledge of £40,000 to fund the project. A significant portion of this funding is believed to have come from the
Beit Trust, along with contributions from anonymous donors, financial institutions, and corporate sponsors. With the endorsement of the Governor-General of the Federation, initial fundraising efforts encountered minimal resistance. The architectural master plan was developed by architect John Vigour in 1959. Construction began in 1960 with the arrival of Bruce Berrington and a team of artisans who had previously worked on the Peterhouse campus. The college was constructed on the 1,900 hectare Bovey Tracey Estate a scenic location featuring brachystegia woodland and granite outcrops which had previously housed St. Bernard’s School since 1891. The college sits on 20 hactares of the Bovey Tracey Estate. Targeting students from Africa’s emerging professional and upper classes, the school charged tuition fees significantly higher three to four times than those of typical mission schools. The college’s first headmaster was Peter Holmes Canham, a British civil servant who had served in
Ghana. He was affectionately nicknamed "Kwame" by students, after Ghana’s founding president
Kwame Nkrumah. Known for his energy and charisma, Canham was also described as eccentric, with a passionate but sometimes short-tempered demeanor. He assumed his role in September 1960. However, the project was not without opposition. Canon David Neaum resigned from nearby St. Bernard’s Mission and relocated to Chikwaka Mission in protest. He criticized the decision to prioritize an elite institution when broader access to education particularly for girls was still lacking. By the time Father Andrew Hunt, the college’s third headmaster, retired, student enrolment had reached 320 boys. He subsequently moved to Mutare, where he served as chair of the board at St. David’s Bonda. The outbreak of the
liberation war, however, disrupted the school’s expansion, and government subsidies were withdrawn. Following Father Hunt’s departure, Reverend Leslie Davies was appointed headmaster. Rev. Davies's tenure was cut short amid escalating violence in the region, including the murder of nearby farmers and clergy at St. Paul’s Musami. On the advice of local police, he left the school for safety reasons. To ensure the college remained open unlike other institutions such as
Eagle School in Manicaland, which closed in 1976 the board appointed Mr. Chiadzwa as headmaster. ==Governance==