| Joss High School | |
| Motto: | Work, Discipline |
| Established: | 1954 |
| Type: | Public |
| Website: | Lycée Joss de Douala |
| Enrollment: | ~3000 students |
| Teaching Staff: | 81 |
| Languages: | French, English, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian, Latin |
Joss High School in Douala is one of the oldest secondary educational institutions in Cameroon. It spans over 4.25ha in the administrative district of Plateau Joss, south of Bonanjo in the commune of Douala I.
Established in 1951 as the Classical and Modern College of Douala, it became Joss High School in 1954. It relocated to its current site, the former Jean Michel football stadium, in 1957. It takes its name from the village and district of Joss,[1] which extended over parts of Bonanjo and Bonandoubé as far back as the 18th century. Until 1972, the students and teachers of the school were predominantly European. Following the French educational system, it was linked to the Académie de Bordeaux in France, particularly for the correction of baccalaureate papers.[2]
As of 2013, it had 1650 students in the first cycle and 1350 students in the second cycle, with 7 divisions from sixth to twelfth grade and 42 classrooms. It offers training in information technology (IT).
It was led by a European principal from 1951 to 1972. The first Cameroonian director was Flavien Bihina Bandolo, appointed in 1972.
Inheriting the fusion of the Bassa families from the plateau, which would later bear his name, it was baptized 'King George' by English slave captains.
These captains, having assigned him political power functions to guarantee order and security, made him one of the main interlocutors of the clan in dealing with European traders; having a regular income that he could redistribute among social elders and consolidate his leadership.
'King George' was transformed into 'King Joss' by the locals; hence the origin of the name Joss to baptize the neighborhood and Plateau Joss.