"P" is for Porter-Gaud School

"P" is for Porter-Gaud School. Located in Charleston, Porter-Gaud had its beginning just after the Civil War. In 1867 the Reverend Anthony Toomer Porter launched the Episcopal Holy Communion Church Institute, a school for white boys. Called Porter Academy after 1882, the school added a military department in 1887. At Porter’s death in 1902, drills in military tactics and football were part of the curriculum along with Latin, modern languages, science, and mathematics. In the 1950s the school faced declining enrollment. In 1964 Porter merged with Gaud, a well-regarded elementary school (founded in 1909) and Watt (a primary feeder into Gaud’s fourth grade). During the tenure of Berkeley Grimball as Headmaster, Porter-Gaud entered an era of financial security, full academic and extracurricular programs, a refurbished suburban campus, growing enrollments, and a restored regional reputation.