Founded in 1964 and inaugurated by the then Governor General Sir John Shaw Rennie, it has proved to be one of the very best colleges in Mauritius. The school bears the name of the famous American president John F. Kennedy and since its foundation, it has encountered many alterations in both the material and pedagogical system. It has over the years produced a number of high calibre students of who
m many have become eminent politicians and professionals such as accountants, lawyers, doctors and engineers. John Kennedy College is the 3rd best boys' state-owned college in Mauritius behind Royal College Curepipe (1st) and Royal College Port-Louis (2nd). Under the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) system, students had to get excellent CPE results in order to get admission at John Kennedy College. In order to be admitted to John Kennedy College in Form 1, one had to be ranked among the best 500 CPE candidates (over a total of about 26000 candidates). Eventually most John Kennedy College students do very well at SC and HSC level. However it is very sad that some John Kennedy College students leave the school after producing good SC results and join Royal College Curepipe or Royal College Port-Louis most of the time. The main strengths of John Kennedy College are the Sciences and Technical Subjects. John Kennedy College was initially more technically oriented, basically because when the school was built it had state of the art workshops and equipments. Over the years the school also made its name in the technical, science and economics fields by producing laureates and students ranked just after. John Kennedy College is considered to have the best secondary school laboratories for Physics and Chemistry in Mauritius. John Kennedy College students are also known as Kennedians or Eagles. The college has also been the cradle of rebellion in Mauritius and saw the emergence of a new mindset which would push the country forward from the early seventies until the late eighties. Kennedians with the "eagle blood" (students who join JKC in Form 1) are very intelligent students. They get admission at JKC because they have proved to be among the best in Mauritius. Some eventually join JKC at HSC level, but these students are not as good as those who joined in Form 1 because it is relatively easy to get admission at JKC at HSC level. Students from John Kennedy College have eventually gained admission in several prestigious and world renowned universities. JKC has also produced a lot of laureates down the years. The JKC uniform consists of blue jeans and a white shirt, with a big eagle display on the back of the shirt.
