With Pretoria under British control, it became apparent to Lord Milner, the Colonial Secretary at the time, that the educational facilities in the city needed attention as there was no secondary school for English-speaking pupils.

Atkinson left at the end of 1905 and was succeeded by J F Acheson who stayed with the school until it moved from Skinner Street to its current site in 1909.

[citation needed] Milner's intention was to create a stable educational infrastructure in the new colony's capital and duly set aside 200 hectares (490 acres) of ground to the south-east of central Pretoria for the construction of new academic institutions.

The architect, Patrick Eagle, met the challenge by designing an edifice rivalling its larger contemporary, Sir Herbert Baker's Union Buildings.

Eagle chose to site the main buildings on the ridge of the hill giving the school its well-known dramatic setting.

[citation needed] The new school buildings were officially opened in 1909 by Jan Smuts, then colonial secretary of the Transvaal.

Consequently, the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool was formed immediately south of its parent, becoming the first Afrikaans-medium high school in the country, several years before Afrikaans attained official recognition as a language (and not a semi-creole of Dutch).

[citation needed] According to Illsley,[4] each component of the badge has a special meaning relating to the history and spirit of the school.

These include photography, fantasy and historical war games, aeronautical, film, wildlife, drama, debating, chess, public speaking, creative writing and science clubs.

The following ensembles frequently perform at school functions and external events: Sporting facilities include soccer, rugby union, cricket, Olympic standard athletics grounds, tennis, squash and basketball courts, a gymnasium, hockey fields, two swimming pools including one for waterpolo, an AstroTurf and a rock-climbing wall.

There is also a man-made pine forest, an old shooting range which has been converted for the purpose of archery, an amphitheatre and an artificial lake, Loch Armstrong.

Pretoria Boys High School is made up of ten constituent houses, each with its own culture and identity.