The 1956 prospectus for St. Stephen's opens with a statement from Reverend Maurice Lancaster, "There has been for some time a growing conviction among parents that today there is a great need for their sons to receive at school not only a sound education to fit them to take their places as citizens, but also a well-based knowledge of Christianity and all it means...".
[1] To achieve this goal, the prospectus lists the aims of the college as follows: (a) to give the best possible secondary education for boys for the most reasonable terms; (b) to give a firm grounding in the Christian Faith as held and taught in the Book of Common Prayer and in the Formularies of the Church of the Province of South Africa; (c) to provide sound and wise discipline; and (d) to train for a full and useful life in the world.
[2] To provide the best Christian-based education at a reasonable cost, the founders originally planned to establish a monastery to accommodate teacher monks.
Religious training included a Eucharist at 8 am and an Evensong at 6 pm on Sundays, a service in the chapel each day before classes began and House Prayers in the evening.
Pupils intending to apply to universities in Rhodesia or the United Kingdom proceeded to take the A-level examinations, which followed a further year of study.
A unique aspect of life at St. Stephen's, was that the boys were allowed to go into the surrounding bush (bushveld), in groups of three, after chapel on Sundays.
It was not uncommon for the pupils to see antelope, such as the large kudu and the smaller duiker, and snakes, such as the black mamba, puff adder and the African rock python.
On the centre column is the foundation stone, which had been unveiled by the Governor of Southern Rhodesia, Sir Peveril William-Powlett.