Queen Elizabeth II at Adi Cakobau School.

A short history of ACS

Adi Cakobau School in Fiji was founded in 1948 by the Fijian government as a boarding school to provide an intermediate education for Fijian girls. The idea for the school was proposed by the Bose Levu Vakaturaga to the colonial government.

Named after the granddaughter of Seru Epenisa Cakobau, recognised at the time before colonisation as the King of Fiji because of his ability to unite the Fiji islands under his authority in 1871 and ceded the nation to the United Kingdom three years later. 

The first principal of the school was Frances Lillian Charlton, a New Zealander whose vision for a holistic education for young ladies set the foundation for the school’s character. ACS became a full-fledged secondary school in 1954. The first Fijian principal was Taufa Vakatale. She was a pioneer girl at Adi Cakobau School and was later deputy prime minister of Fiji.

Its English language curriculum included traditional academic subjects, traditional dance, music, crafts and “chiefly protocol.”The school moved to its present location at Ro Camaisala Road, next to Sawani Village, in the province of Naitasiri in 1956. The counterpart school for boys is Queen Victoria School and Ratu Kadavulevu School, all of which were established in the same manner and with the same goals.

Entry to Form 3 (Year 9) is restricted to entry via merit. Only those achieving the highest marks in national examinations taken by pupils in their last year of primary school (Year 8) are entitled to enter.

Adi Cakobau School consists of 4 houses, named for native Fijian flowers – Mokosoi (Green), Kakala (Blue), Uci (Red) and Lagakali (Yellow).