John Mackenzie School

John Mackenzie School is a historic private school situated in Francistown, Botswana. It caters for the education of boys and girls from Transition to A-Levels in a multi-cultural, interdenominational environment.

The school was founded in 1899 when Reverend Nelson Fogarty of the Railway Mission became anxious to start schools in Plumtree, Francistown and Palaype. He envisaged about 12 children at each station and considered it “terrible to think that there are about 120 children on the railway line growing up without any education whatsoever.” His wish for a teacher was realized with the arrival of Mr. Edgar Lloyd from the UK in 1899. Mr. Lloyd started his school in the church hall, later to become St. Patrick’s Church, on August 16th 1899 with two children and by September 28th, the number had increased to twelve.

​The school changed its name from Francistown European School to that of John Mackenzie School in 1958, in honour of the  first Deputy Commissioner of Bechuanaland, an area north of the then Cape Province and south of the Molopo River. He was a missionary with the London Missionary Society and was largely responsible for Bechuanaland becoming a Protectorate.

​Recognising the pressing need for an independent secondary school to serve the towns and all sectors of the community of Northern Botswana, permission was gained by John Mackenzie School to open a secondary section in 1994