Victoria College, Alexandria

Victoria College, Alexandria, (Arabic: كلية فيكتوريا‎) was founded in 1902 under the impetus of the recently ennobled Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer of the Barings Bank, that was heavily invested in Egyptian stability. For years the British Consul-General was ex officio on the board of Victoria College. The new college was to raise the standard of Imperial education and free it from the influences of the madrassas and the ubiquitous Jesuits, both of whom made the British foreign office uneasy. Among prominent subscribers to the project were members of the prominent internationalized Jewish and Maltese minority in Egypt including members of the Egyptian Royal family. Prior to the 1930s establishment of Baghdad College, members of the upper class of Iraq sent their children to Victoria College.[1]

Victoria College
Location
Alexandria

Egypt
Information
TypePrivate
Under the supervision of the Ministry of Education
MottoCuncti Gens Una Sumus
(We Are All One People)
Established1902 (1902)
DirectorAshraf Elrashidy
LanguageEnglish
NewspaperThe Victorian

During World War II, many displaced European royals and nobles were added to the student body:

" As the situation worsened north of the Mediterranean, scions of European monarchies expanded the student body further so that Romanovs, Saxe-Coburgs, Hohenzollerns, Zogos and Glucksburgs rubbed shoulders with the Hashemites, Mahdis and al-Sharifs. While most were treated like regular students some stood out because of restrictions imposed upon them. The Albanian royals, the Zogos, for instance, were constantly trailed by massive bodyguards, which is perhaps why they did not last long at Victoria. Years later, many among the Arab elite students would meet again this time as major players in rising petrodollar economies." (Samir Raafat)

The British Imperial-outpost phase of Victoria College ended abruptly in 1956, the year that began with the dissolution of Anglo-Egyptian cooperation and saw the Suez Crisis in October. The entire British faculty was fired. The school was renamed later to "Victory College" and continues to operate until this day.

At Victoria College on El Iqbal Street, former Bulgarian King and Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha attended classes along with schoolmates such as King Hussein of Jordan, Zaid Al Rifai, the Kashoggi brothers (whose father was one of Saudi King Abdulaziz's physicians), Kamal Adham (who ran the Saudi external intelligence directorate under King Faisal),[2] scholar Edward Said, present-day Saudi businessmen Mohammed Al Attas, the Shobokshi brothers [3] and Ghassan Shaker [4] —Internationally famous director Youssef Chahine, and actor Omar Sharif and many Princes from the Libyan Royal family and the Jordanian Royal Family.

Notable alumni
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References
  1. Filkns, Dexter, "Boys of Baghdad College Vie for Prime Minister" (Archive). New York Times, December 12, 2005. Retrieved on April 29, 2015.
  2. "About the Bin Laden family". PBS. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  3. Shobokshi Shobokshi
  4. Ghassan Haker

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