Bishop Kelly of the Catholic Diocese of Benin City founded St. Maria Goretti Girls Grammar School on March 4th, 1959. It was the 1 st girls’ secondary school in Benin City and was named the same year that St. Maria Goretti, a young girl who stood for purity in body and mind, was canonized. The school was briefly named in the late 1970s Iden Secondary School after it was taken over by the state government.
From 1959-1962, the school had three principals, but it was under Reverend Sister (Dr.) Henrietta Powers (1962-1985) that the school attained its highest glory.
The school achieved great academic records, by excelling and presenting without rivalry as one of the best results by girls’ schools for the West African School Certificate grade evaluation in the then Western region, and consistently produced some of the highest scoring students in old Bendel State. Several of these students have gone on to achieve academic laurels, and the school has churned out a great number of professional women in Nigeria and abroad.
A firm believer in being well rounded, the school also won state and national prizes in sports, music, quizzes, debates, arts, drama and cultural festivals. Of such classics and undoubtedly without any iota of blotter are the “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and of course the unforgettable “Princess Ju-Ju; or The Golden Amulet, (O Mamori) we fondly called “ The Land of the Rising Sun”, starring the Emperor “mighty Hokipokitippitoptop” by Clementine Ward.Who can forget “Things Fall Apart” or “No Longer at Ease” by Chinua Achebe; and a host of award winning plays? The school constantly won first prizes in March Past competitions and the female hockey team became the undisputed state champion for many years. It is on record that St. Maria Goretti produced most of the State’s female hockey and tennis players.
Today, the general decline in educational standards in Nigeria has left its debilitating mark on our beloved St. Maria Goretti, which now has six junior secondary schools and one senior secondary school. In spite of this, it remains the first choice for girl’s schools in Edo State