Founded towards the end of the Wars of Land Dispossession, Healdtown is an extraordinary example of the healing process of reconciliation. In 1848 when Methodist minister Rev. John Ayliff united the black people in the Fort Beaufort area that had been scattered by the wars to live together in one place, he bridged both geographical and cultural divides.
The school became one of the largest and most influential schools in Southern Africa, drawing students from as far afield as Kenya, Zaire, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. By 1934 students from 36 different areas, representing 28 different cultures, were being housed and educated. The name Healdtown was chosen in honour of Sir James Heald, a British merchant who gave generously to the Methodist Church, specifically for the founding of the mission station in Fort Beaufort. It has produced political and academic giants, such as John Jabavu, Dr Seetsile Modiri Molema, Dr Zola Skweyiya, Dr Nelson Mandela, Silas Nkanunu, Govan Mbeki and many others.