St Jago was the third oldest school in Jamaica, after Wolmer's Boys', one of the Wolmer's Schools (1729) and Manning's School (1738). In the 18th century, these schools originated from their benefactors’ concerns for the education of the country's poor, usually the children of poor whites, as there was no system in place for the education of the children of slaves. It began as the Free School of St. Jago-de-la-Vega and later amalgamated two schools, Beckford and Smith (a boys' school) and Cathedral Girls High.