Merl Grove High School began as a preparatory school shortly before 1920 at the home of Natheniel Speid, a retired elementary school teacher on Marverly Lane, Off Molynes Road. By 1920, the Speids had moved to 77 Constant Spring Road and the school was conducted in a little two-room building in front thier house, facing the road. The number increased to approximately 30 pupils and soon the "Little Red School", so call because it was painted red, expanded.
Natheniel Speid was requested by fasmilies in the Haalf Way Tree area to teach their less brilliant children. However, his idea was to educate "the little child of the average man", and together with his daughter Miriam, the dream was to make secondary education available to wider section of the community.
As the number grew, the "the Little Red House" was expanded into a two-storey building and in 1924 Mirian Speid, who had twelve years been teaching at Richmond Deaconess School, returned to Kingston to help her parents. She introduced Spanish, French and the Sciences to the school's curriculum.
The School was name Merl Grove.According to Miriam Speid, her mother Virginia had five children with two of them having the same initial "R" so her mother used the letters of each name "M" for Miriam, "E" for Effey, "R" for Reginald and Ruth and "L" for Lucille to form MERL. The area around had alot of different fruit trees and because of the many trees it was called "GROVE" hence MERL GROVE.
Merl Grove then changed from preparatory school to a private secondary school, and Miriam became the first headmistress when her father retired. She pursed the quest for excellence, and in the 1928, the Government Inspector of Schools classified Merl Grove along with other schools a Grade 1.
Not generally well known, is the fact that Merl Grove was the first secondary school in the island to form a Parent Teachers' Association.
