CMS Grammar School: Nigeria's First Secondary School Established

CMS Grammar School, recognized as Nigeria's oldest secondary school, opened on June 6, 1859, under the Church Missionary Society, with Babington Macaulay serving as its first principal. The school started with just six students, all boarders, in a building known as Cotton House on Broad Street.

Philanthropist James Pinson Labulo Davies contributed £50 for books and equipment to support the school's establishment. In the 1870s, Methodist leaders sought to establish their own grammar school in Lagos, leading to the laying of the foundation stone in 1875 and the official opening on March 14, 1878, with Rev. W. Terry Coppin as the first principal and an initial intake of 12 boys, including George Stone Smith, who later became Dr. Orishadipe Obasa, a notable Nigerian physician and political leader.

The Methodists also founded Methodist Girls' High School shortly after, focusing on the formal education of girls.