The Middle School, opened by Lala Jowala Das in 1897, was elevated to a High School in 1905. Chaudhri Fateh-ud-Din, who had retired some years earlier from the Punjab Education Service as Inspector of Schools, Multan Division, was the first headmaster of the high school.

To the historiographer, the institution appears as a rapidly growing youth, constantly outgrowing its garments. The high school grew in both numbers and reputation and had the exceptional good fortune of being led by a succession of highly competent headmasters—men who had distinguished themselves in the service. In 1908, Sardar Mohan Singh succeeded Chaudhri Fateh-ud-Din and was later succeeded by Lala Harkishen Das, M.A., who remained in charge of the school from 1909 to 1919.

During Lala Harkishen Das’s tenure as headmaster, the school gained great popularity. Records indicate that the old building (now occupied by the Government Intermediate College for Women) soon proved insufficient to meet the school’s growing needs. With the sympathetic support of Col. Douglas, the then Deputy Commissioner of Lyallpur, Lala Harkishen Das successfully persuaded the department to sanction a grant for a new building. Lala Harkishen Das, who has since retired from service, acknowledged the invaluable assistance of the late Rai Bahadur Sundar Das Suri, the then Inspector of Schools, whose keen personal interest played a crucial role in securing a building grant of Rs. 1,15,000.

Construction began in 1912, but it took three years before the school could move into the new building. With slight alterations and a few additions, this structure now serves as the present college building. A striking feature of the building is its beautiful approach, lined on both sides with artistically planted trees with thick foliage, forming a picturesque avenue—an enduring testament to the planter’s artistic taste. The well-planned layout of the playfields also reflects credit on those who first prepared the grounds. The building itself, though lacking architectural grandeur or beauty, is strictly utilitarian in design—a fitting reflection of the practical spirit of the age in which we live.

Even as a school, this institution was able to instill in its alumni a deep sense of attachment and appreciation, nurturing sentiments that shaped their lives. Writing in the Degree College special edition of The Beacon, an old student expressed his feelings in the following words:

“These precincts were our ‘world’ years ago. Even now, on some fine morning, when the doors are shut and nobody is nearby, I go out of my way and pass through the corridors of this old school of mine. There is none who can dispute this right of old, and once again I feel like a child in the lap of its mother.”

The school continued to make progress, and the next notable headmaster was Sheikh Mohammad Zahur-ud-Din, who later became the Inspector of Schools for the Rawalpindi Division.

Lala Lachman Das, the Head Clerk, who had been associated with the institution for over 19 years, recounted an interesting anecdote about the next milestone in the school’s history.

In 1924, during the school’s prize distribution ceremony, Headmaster Lala Hukam Chand, in his report, remarked on a persistent rumor, describing it as a ‘sword of Damocles’ hanging over the school—the speculation that the high school would soon be converted into an intermediate college. At the conclusion of the Headmaster’s report, Sir George Anderson, in his presidential speech, humorously addressed the gathering, stating that the sword of Damocles, which the Headmaster feared, must indeed fall. He then announced that the High School would be elevated to an Intermediate College starting in May 1924.