September 21, 1963 – Antigua’s second secondary school, the All Saints Secondary School was opened.
After the post primary examinations in 1963, the government of Antigua moved to expand secondary school education to the All Saints community and its neighbouring villages. Cardinal J. King was transferred from the Holy Trinity School in Barbuda and appointed as principal to manage the plant at the start of the new school year. He was also instructed to make immediate arrangements to create an additional wing at the All Saints School which we know today as the J. T. Ambrose School.
Principal King, with his small band of five (5) teachers, transformed his office into a classroom to house the first batch of nine (9) students who were the latest successes of the post primary examinations. An additional student was allowed to join the first class. The curriculum consisted of English Grammar and composition, Math, History, English Literature, Health Science and Religious Knowledge.
The first uniform for the girls comprised a lilac jumper style dress that was complimented with navy blue socks and black shoes. The boys wore short sleeved white shirts that were tucked into their khaki pants, complemented with a brown tie, black socks and shoes. By the 1970’s the boys began wearing white shirt jacks with the khaki pants. A dress uniform was added which consisted of a white dress for the girls and white shirts and black pants for the boys.
Today, the school has witnessed a complete transformation with a new location (present site) on lands acquired by the government and a plant consisting of several blocks which house over twenty-one classrooms and several departments. The staff has risen to over seventy strong and the student population averages approximately 700 although students from the zone are now shared with Pares and Irene B. Williams Secondary Schools.
The curriculum now covers over thirty (30) disciplines from the original seven (7). Over the years, the school has excelled in a number of areas to include the Top of the Form series, debate, Junior Science Quiz and Home Economics quiz competition. The school engaged in many other extracurricular activities such as Teenage pageant , now called Teen Splash, Black History pageant, tourism cadets, “no barriers’ Girls United, Young Leaders and Overcomers.
In sports, the school was a formidable contender in the inter schools cricket league and inter schools netball championship for many decades up until 2015. Scores of students from the All Saints Secondary School have made a significant impact on the sporting landscape of the nation. These include Sir Curtly Ambrose, Winston Benjamin, Eldean Baptiste, and Alzarri Joseph who made the West Indies Senior cricket team; Heather Samuel and Sonia Joseph who both represented Antigua and Barbuda in the Summer Olympic Games.
The school has been managed by thirteen (13) principals to include Cardinal J. King, Irving Samuel, Norman Southwell, Clarence Edwards, Vincent Benjamin, Mrs. Eusalyn Lewis, Alaric Elbert Looby, Ilma James, Ruth Limerick, J. Lenore Henry, Johnston Southwell, George Edwards and presently, Elvin Hodge. The school continues to motivate and empower students to attain their maximum educational potential under the motto “From Possibility To Realisation”.