The first Rector of St Cyprian's Church, Kimberley, Fr John Witherston Rickards, is credited with starting the St Cyprian's Schools, including a Mission School which was a forerunner to Perseverance.
By 1877 two mission schools existed – one at Du Toit's Pan and another at St Cyprian’s.
In 1913 Bishop Wilfrid Gore Browne transferred ownership of Perseverance from St Cyprian's Cathedral to the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman.
Successive heads of the Practising School were Miss Ivy Calmeyer (at the time of whose retirement in 1943 there were 21 staff and 622 pupils on the roll, as well as newly established Nursery School), Mr John David Kester (1943–1948) and Mr M.P.
Mr A.H. Ashworth taught music and English and was composer of the school song (with words by Meadows).
[9] Ending his message in the 75th anniversary booklet, Canon Pullen sounds an ominous note when he writes: “What of the future?
The formal link with the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman and the Anglican Church was severed, with government taking control of Perseverance.
Perseverance continued to fulfill its role as a teacher training college through the latter part of the twentieth century.
When teacher training colleges were abolished in the post-apartheid era, and Perseverance was absorbed into the National Institute for Higher Education, the Barkly Road building was taken over as the headquarters for the Northern Cape Department of Education.
[12] A call was made "to protest against this action which destroys a proud legacy" and breaks down "a people's history.
As a church school it is a successor to Perseverance which from the start and for most of its existence was intimately connected with St Cyprian's.