St John's College is a private school for boys in Houghton, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. St John's College was founded in Johannesburg on 1 August 1898 and is an Anglican school. It was founded by Rev. John Darragh the rector of St Mary's Anglican Church, Eloff Street, Johannesburg. He persuaded his parish council of the need to establish an Anglican school for boys. His curate Rev. JL Hodgson was appointed the first Headmaster. The first classes started in a house in Plein Street, Johannesburg with two desks and seven pupils aged six to 14. However the school was forced to close a year later at the end of 1899 owing to the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War. St John's re-opened in 1902 two months after the signing of the peace treaty, and grew rapidly under Rev. Hodgson and eight staff. Soon there were 180 boys which was too many for the Plein Street premises, and St John's moved to larger premises in a wood and iron building near the Union Grounds between Joubert Park and the old Wanderers (now Johannesburg’s main railway station).