DPHS is renowned for traditional values and a progressive and innovative approach towards Education. We produce notoriously well-mannered young men, with integrity and leadership skills. Our supportive community seeks to balance Sport and Sportmanship; Academics; Culture and Technological Relevance in a nurturing environment that fosters mutual respect and understanding.

Our history dates back to 1910, when the headmaster of DHS, Mr A.S. Langley, decided that his school needed a preparatory section. This was established in the old St.Thomas church hall and Harry Stubbs – the first headmaster – taught the older boys.

Three years later Prep had grown so popular that we had to relocate to our current site in Gordon Road. The school consisted of a school hall, which is now our Media Centre, and ten classrooms- which we now use for our Junior Primary section. When it opened there were 150 boys across Grades Three to Eight.

In 1951 DPHS phased out Grade 3, and shortly before 1967, with the growing numbers necessitating the building of a new school hall and additional senior primary classrooms, the Grade 8 year was phased out . The hall is named after one of Prep’s woodwork teachers, who worked here for 57 years –Mr, Maurice Wilkinson.

Another noteworthy milestone was in 1973, when DPHS and Gordon Road Girls’ Primary built the Jubilee Pool as a joint venture and shared facility.

In 1988 DPHS introduced Junior Primary classes, and in 1994 we established our Reception Unit in Claribel Road. We celebrated 30 years of success in our Junior Primary, in 2013, with the official opening of the JP Adventure Play Area on the Walshaw Field.

Other noteworthy improvements to our school facilities include the building of the Music and Drama Room, the School Shop and Refreshment Centre, and the Mkhombiseni Zulu Functions Room – named in memory of a long-standing staff member. The original Functions Room was where Mrs Marklew’s classroom is now, and that building is 27 years old. This wing of the school was officially opened as part of the 1998 Friends and Founders Day celebrations, and marked the completion of Phase One of the Prep Beyond 2000 project which was a joint collaboration between the school and the DPHS Educational Trust.

The second Phase of the Prep Beyond 2000 project was completed in 2002, where the Victor Daitz Science and Technology Centre and four new classrooms were officially opened during Friends and Founders Day.

The School and Educational Trust then launched a three-phase initiative to take Prep into our centenary year in 2010. In 2009 we completed the new front entrance, staff room and administration offices.

The DPHS Educational Trust celebrated its 30^th anniversary in 2015 and celebrated by upgrading the Memorial Gate and installing a new stairway onto the Walshaw Field. 2015 also marked the launch of the DPHS School Bus service with the purchase of a new school bus.

The next phase of the initiative involved extending the Walshaw and Smith fields, and the closure and paving of the lane in 10^th avenue. Our new Special Educational Needs Centre provides on-site access for our boys to remedial specialists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and counselling psychologists, and aims to maximize the learning potential of our learners. We look forward to exciting new developments along the 10^th avenue lane in the future.

The motto which appears on our school badge means “From small beginnings better fortune follows” and as we reflect today on how far we have come and how much we have achieved; then despite our present circumstances, today in 2022 we can proudly celebrate 112 years of “Preparing our Boys for Life.”