The college's alumni include Presidents of Botswana and Uganda, several ministers and leaders of the African National Congress.

The school was founded in 1853 by the Reverend David Rood, missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

Rood then transferred to Amanzimtoti following the 16 September 1851 death of mission founder the Reverend Newton Adams, M.D.

[1] Adams had arrived in 1835 with two other missionaries, but after being rebuffed by the Thabethe tribe which employed local chiefs from numerous nguni clans one noticeable one was headed by inkosi Mtubantuba to donate cattle they had set out to establish three complementary missions.

Adams had chosen a site south of Durban where he founded a "family school" within months of his arrival.

[3] A historic meeting took place here in 1881 when the Reverend William Cullen Wilcox was asked to talk to a fatherless student called John Dube about his poor behavior at the school.

Both of them were active in politics and Matthews was later to be the Botswana Ambassador to the United Nations and Luthuli was to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

He worked closely with John Dube of Ohlange High School to achieve common objectives of improving the lot of native Africans.

This act required that South African schools prepare black students for secondary and manual labour.

[7] What was then thought to be the end of a leading school was described by ex-staff member George C. Grant in his book, The Liquidation of Adams College.

[3] Both what is now Ohlange High School and Adams were involved with a move to return music to its ethnic roots.

Football was introduced by the missionary schools and the Shooting Stars were able to challenge similar teams at Ifafa, Umbumbulu and Inanda.