1905 – Temporary Classrooms were built so that the one-storey old school could be demolished.
1906 – The two-storey building was complete, with the capacity to accommodate 870 children.
1910 – Construction began on classrooms, kitchen and new office facing Boshoff Street.
1911 – Cookery classes started at school under Miss Storrar. After Scottsville School was established in 1915, the Scottsville girls used to travel by tram to Longmarket School for cookery lessons.
1912 – The first outing was recorded, where pupils took a journey to Durban to visit the “HMS New Zealand” which was docked in the harbour.
1918 – Free education came into force for primary pupils and the roll rose to 518.
1920 – 54 Secondary pupils were transferred to the High School, marking the beginning of Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School.
1920 – Several epidemics were recorded, such as diphtheria, measles, mumps, whooping cough and enteric fever. When these occurred, almost half of the pupils in the school would succumb to them due to the fact that there was no immunisation against them.
1923 – Afrikaans was taught as a subject instead of Dutch. This was also the year when the public Std. 6 examinations were introduced.
1926 – 1930 – It was during this time that Miss Lorna Badock, a teacher at the school for many years, wrote the school song, which was set to music by Mr Cyril Wright, the organiser of music for Natal schools. This song was dedicated to Miss Murchie, headmistress from 1926 – 1931.
1931 – Introduction of sporting houses. Physical Education teachers were commonly known as Drill Teachers. During the 1920s and 1930s Miss Nicolson, Miss Ashton and Miss St. George began teaching at the school. Three of the present houses are named after these teachers. The fourth being called after Miss Mileman, who was headmistress from 1946-1956.
1933 – There was a contest for a Drill Shield each year, between Longmarket Street Girls’ School and Berg Street School (Russel High). In this year Longmarket won the Drill Shield which may be seen in the school foyer.
1934 – The first Parents’ Day was held on 9 April
1935 – 6 May was a public holiday to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V and the next day all the school children of the city were entertained by the School Council at the Royal Show Grounds.
1936 – Forty-four children travelled by train to visit the Empire Exhibition in Johannesburg
1937 – A special tree was planted in the playground to mark the occasion of the coronation of King George VI.
1939 – The installation of electric light in the classrooms and hall was completed. The Ethel Campbell Memorial Shield was presented to the school by the Director of Education, on behalf of Major James Logan, whose late daughter had taught at the school as a Physical Education mistress from 1913-1916. The object of the shield appears in the words inscribed on it, “For recording annually in the honours list below the name of the pupil in the highest form who has excelled in gymnastics, games and swimming in a period over 3 years”. In September Miss Chick announced that war had been declared (world war 2).
1940 – Over the next year little boys were no longer admitted to the school and from 6 August schools were in future to be zoned according to where pupils were domiciled.
1941 – The police were called in because nine windows had been broken by boys shooting stones from their catapults.
1943 – The Longmarket Street School A team gained first place in the Junior inter-town Life Saving Competition. The B team gained second place with Wykeham third, Scottsville fourth and St Johns sixth.
1944 – An Intercession Service was held at school, following the news that the Allied invasion of Europe had begun.
1945 – The school closed on 10 May for VE Day, celebrating the end of the war in Europe.
1947 – The pupils were taken to Alexandria Park to see the Royal Family and were given a holiday on 21 March to celebrate the Royal Visit (King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, later to become Queen Elizabeth II, and Princess Margaret).
1950 – The school celebrated its Diamond Jubilee.
1951 – At the Pietermaritzburg and District Swimming Association Gala held at the Open-Air Baths on 9 March, Girls Collegiate and Longmarket Street School tied to win the shield in the Junior School section.
1952 – A party of 73 pupils left for the Van Riebeeck Fair in Cape Town where on the 6th April celebrations were held to commemorate the landing of Jan van Riebeeck at the Cape, 300 years before, in 1652.
1953 – The girls were trained by Mr P Landsberg the Chief Traffic Inspector. This was the first patrol of its kind to be founded in Maritzburg.
1965 – The 75th Anniversary was celebrated with a Thanksgiving ceremony and a party. A concert was also held.
1970 – The schools eightieth birthday was celebrated with a Thanksgiving and a Fete and on the 4th of August, Miss Pechey attended a Thanksgiving service at Girl’s High School on the occasion of that school’s Golden Jubilee. It was fifty years since 54 secondary pupils had left Longmarket to form the nucleus of the new Girls’ High School.
1972 – A moving Thanksgiving Service for 82 years on the old school site was held. The new school was to be named Longmarket Girls’ School. The Provincial Building Services began the removal of the furniture, equipment and books from the old building to the new school. Four days later a beautiful old oak tree that proudly stood for many years in the old school grounds was blown down in a violent storm as if it too, symbolically was marking the end of an era.
1973 – The first birthday was celebrated at the new premises and so a tree planting ceremony was held.
1974 – The first recorded incident of flooding in the new school premises was when the river broke its banks and the water left much debris on the fields. The Msunduzi River flooded on several other occasions. Three times, over the next two years, the school was threatened by up to 12 centimetres of water, from flooding.
1975 –Miss Pechey and Mrs Waygood, the P.E. mistress unlocked the gates of the newly-constructed swimming pool. Longmarket Street Girls’ School building was declared a National Monument; the plaque can be seen from the Langalibalele Street side of the building.
1976 – School re-opened on 20 January with the readmission of boys to the junior primary section. On 27 July, the original dykes around the school were raised by 60 centimetres, to try keep the flood waters fromentering the school buildings.
1977 – Mr Byrne introduced Chess to the pupils. Several Chess pupils were chosen to represent Pietermaritzburg at the Hosking Week and at Natal School Trials.
1978 – The standard five girls attended a camp at the Cedara Agricultural College, which became an annual visit.
1979 – Athletics was introduced. On 8th December, a function was held to mark the official naming and dedication of the Elaine Pechey Hall. Miss Pechey was a guest of honour at the function.
1980 – The School’s ninetieth birthday was celebrated on 1st August with a special assembly.
1981 – Thirty of the Std. 4 girls attended the Majuba Centenary Ceremony – “The Hill of the Doves” near Charlestown on the border of Natal and the Transvaal which was the scene of a British defeat in the First Boer War on 27th February 1881.
1982 – Two tennis courts were opened.
1983 – Cross-country events were introduced.
1985 – Longmarket co-hosted the Hosking Week with Merchiston. Two hundred and twenty-nine girls and teachers were accommodated in various areas of the school and all the netball, hockey and chess games were played at the school. In September, twenty-four Longmarket girls combined with Merchiston, to produce the musical “Oklahoma”.
1987 – The After Care was opened, and the Longmarket Trust was launched. This was also the year of the floods reaching up to 1,56 metres, causing extensive damage to the school.
1988 – The Longmarket Girl’s Swimming Team took the honours with first place in the Junior B Gala held at Alexandra Baths in 1988 and 1989. A special assembly was held on 29th July to bid farewell to Mr Madonda who had been a caretaker at the school for over forty years.
1990 – The School Centenary Year celebrations were held throughout the year. Celebrations included; steam train rides, a hot air balloon appearance on the field, a library evening, cocktail party, tea party, musical concerts, a special assembly, a Thanksgiving Service held on the 1st August (the School’s official birthday), and many more celebrations.
