In June 1959, a formal photograph taken at Queen’s College Lagos captured a scene that reflected the character of elite girls’ education in late colonial Nigeria. The principal, Margaret Gentle, later known as Mrs Harwood, stands in conversation with the school’s head girl. The moment is composed and restrained, a familiar image in boarding schools of the era, yet it opens a window onto a decisive chapter in the school’s history.
Queen’s College was founded in 1927 to provide secondary education for girls at a time when such opportunities were limited across Nigeria. From the beginning, it was conceived as a national institution, enrolling students from different regions and backgrounds and preparing them for academic success and public responsibility. By the 1950s, the school had earned a reputation for discipline, strong teaching standards, and a structured boarding culture that encouraged leadership among students.
Margaret Gentle became principal in 1956, stepping into a role that carried considerable responsibility. These were years of expansion, rising enrolment, and national change. Nigeria was moving steadily toward independence, and institutions like Queen’s College were expected to maintain stability while preparing students for a future that looked very different from the colonial past.
A School Ready for Expansion
By the mid 1950s, Queen’s College had outgrown its earlier facilities. The pressure was practical and immediate. A large boarding school requires classrooms, dormitories, dining halls, administrative offices, and staff accommodation, all operating smoothly to support daily life for hundreds of students.
The move to new premises was completed in 1958. The new campus offered expanded space that allowed the school to function more effectively and accommodate its growing population. For students, this meant improved living and learning conditions. For staff, it provided the structure needed to maintain order and academic focus within a demanding boarding environment.
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The 1959 Royal Opening
In 1959, the new premises were officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester. Ceremonial events of this kind were part of the public life of major institutions in the final years of British colonial administration. Nigeria would achieve independence the following year, making the occasion one of the last prominent royal engagements connected to colonial education.
For Queen’s College, the opening carried clear meaning. It reinforced the school’s status as a leading centre for girls’ education and highlighted the importance placed on educating young women at a time when national expectations were changing. Families, educators, and officials understood that schools like Queen’s College were shaping future teachers, professionals, and public servants.
What the 1959 Photograph Shows
The June 1959 photograph, credited to Keystone Features and preserved in the Hulton Archive, shows Margaret Gentle speaking with the head girl during this period of transition. In boarding schools following British tradition, the head girl played a central role in student leadership. She helped maintain discipline, supported school routines, and acted as a link between students and staff.
The photograph does not reveal the content of their conversation, but it clearly reflects the structure of school life. It presents authority and responsibility as calm and orderly, values that were central to the educational culture of the time. For modern readers, the image offers insight into how leadership and student responsibility were publicly represented in elite girls’ schools.
Leading Through a Changing Nation
The late 1950s were marked by increasing Nigerian participation in governance and public life. Independence was close, and schools were expected to prepare students for roles in a new nation. At Queen’s College, this meant maintaining academic standards while encouraging confidence, discipline, and leadership among young women.
As principal from 1956 to 1963, Margaret Gentle focused on the daily realities of running a large boarding school. Academic oversight, student welfare, staff coordination, and institutional order were central to her role. Student leadership positions and organised extracurricular activities formed part of a system designed to produce well rounded graduates ready for higher education and professional life.
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Service Beyond Queen’s College
After leaving Queen’s College in 1963, Margaret Gentle served as an adviser to the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education from 1963 to 1968. The early post independence years required careful coordination across regions, along with attention to curriculum development, teacher training, and school administration. Advisory roles supported these efforts by providing experienced guidance during a period of national adjustment.
Her later recognition as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire reflected service within the British honours system for education overseas. Beyond titles and awards, her legacy is best understood through the institutions she served and the continuity she helped sustain during demanding years.
An Enduring Institution
Today, Queen’s College Lagos remains one of Nigeria’s most respected girls’ secondary schools. Its endurance reflects decades of commitment by educators, administrators, and students. Within that long history, Margaret Gentle Harwood’s years as principal stand out for their timing, coinciding with the school’s relocation, a major royal opening, and the transition toward independence.
The 1959 photograph remains a lasting visual record of that era. It captures not drama or spectacle, but the quiet authority and structure that defined school life at a moment when the future of the nation was being shaped.
Author’s Note
Queen’s College Lagos grew into a lasting institution through discipline, expanded facilities, and steady leadership at a pivotal moment in Nigerian history. Margaret Gentle Harwood’s principalship reflects how everyday school leadership, from managing relocation to maintaining standards, helped prepare generations of young women for life in an independent Nigeria.
References
Getty Images, Keystone Features, Hulton Archive, photograph caption and archival data.
Queen’s College Lagos, official school history and commemorative publications.
Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education, post independence advisory records and historical summaries.
