Inauguration ceremony of the South African College School (SACS) takes place

The South African College School (SACS) was inaugurated at the Groote Kerk, giving impetus to the formation of the first school in Cape Town. The idea of establishing SACS was born in 1791 when the Dutch Commissioner-General, Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist, asked for money to be set aside to improve the schools in the Cape. After the British took over Cape Colony from the Dutch, the governor of the Cape, Lord Charles Henry Somerset, gave permission for money set aside by de Mist to be used to establish SACS.  A committee met in the Groot Kerk to discuss funding and accommodation for the school. Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole approved the final plans for the school and the inauguration ceremony of SACS was held on 1 October 1829. Classes at SACS included juniors all the way up to seniors doing collegiate work. The school was located at the Weeshuis on Long Street and later moved to the Egyptian Building near Gardens in 1841. In 1874, younger and older students were separated to further facilitate learning.  Thus, SACS was split into a College and a school. The College School moved into its own building in Orange Street in 1896. By 1903 the junior college school had emerged as a distinct institution from its sister institution. With increasing enrollment the school became constrained in meeting the accommodation needs of the students. This resulted in the expansion of facilities at the school, which were completed in 1912. In 1952, the Junior School moved to a new site in Newlands. SACS was transformed when the University of Cape Town Act was passed in 1916 creating the University of Cape Town, although the Act came only came into force in 1918.