Trafalgar High School was opened in 1912 as the first state high school for people of colour. The school was established due to the efforts of Dr Abdurahman, President of the African People’s Organisation and Harold Cressy, the first person of colour to obtain a BA degree from the University of Cape Town. Harold Cressy was the school’s first principal. The school and building is synonymous with the fight against apartheid. The teaching staff were politically aware activists who formed part of organisations such as the Teachers’ League of South Africa, the New Era Fellowship, the Non-European Unity Movement. Alumni of the school include Dullah Omar; Abdullah Ebrahim (Dollar Brand); James La Guma; Judge Siraaj Desai; Helen Kies; Ben Kies; Rahima Moosa; Cissie Gool; among others.
