Estcourt High School
Encyclopedia
Estcourt High School is a school in Estcourt, South Africa
.
, the school only admitted pupils of European descent.
At the turn of the century, the Estcourt Government School had about 100 children and only offered formal education at primary level, even though the occasional bright student was coached at secondary level to enable them to enter university. In 1915 lessons in Dutch
was offered for the first time and 75 children out of 115 took up the subject. Although there were a few children who spoke Dutch or Afrikaans
as their mother tongue, instruction in that language has to wait until 1945.
By 1924 the school had expanded to 226 children when the new headmaster, Major AC Martin MC arrived. Martin had been awarded the Military Cross
during the First World War. That year four children sat the matriculation exam. This sparked a growth in demand for secondary education and in 1927 the school was split into two - Estcourt Junior School retaining the old school building and the high school moving to a new 10 ha site.
designed by the College of Heralds.
The school site was split into two by the Loskop road. Martin laid out the school's academic and hostel accommodation to the north of the road and the sports fields, consisting of two full sized cricket pitches, two rugby pitches and three hockey pitches to the south of the road. He persuaded the Estcourt Town Council to donate a further 8 ha of land to the school enabling it to offer the study of agriculture to its pupils. A swimming pool was opened in 1931 - the first for any state school in the province.
In 1934 Martin initiated the building of a separate science block, but it was not completed until 1941, by which time Martin had left the school. The block was named Martin Block in his honour.
. Martin, along with many school old boys and parents of pupils was later to be taken as a PoW
at Tobruk
. Three months after he left the school, Reg Pearse took up the headmastership of the school. Once the war had finished, Pearse set about expanding the school. Almost immediately he set about overcome administrative obstacles and developing strong ties with both the farming and town communities to negotiating funds for the Memorial Hall which was eventually opened in 1957. The increasing role of the school and the demand for places in the hostel lead to the building of a third hostel which was opened in 1955. By the time Pearse retired in 1965, 250 pupils out of a total of nearly 600 were boarders. Sporting facilities were enlarged with the swimming pool being enlarged a few years later bringing it to its current "L" shape.
The school's sports teams played against other schools across the entire province. Due to government-imposed restrictions under the Apartheid regime, the school was only permitted to field teams against other schools reserved for whites. As a result, the teams often had to travel 100 km for away matches. At Natal Schools sport tournaments, the school usually competed under the colours of North Natal Schools which fielded teams made up of players from all the North Natal secondary schools. In cultural events however such as debating and chess, the school's opponents were usually the private schools in the Natal Midlands or the state schools in Pietermaritzburg.
Until the end of the 1960's the school had been an academic high school; technical and commercial subjects being offered at other schools in the province, but none of which were in Estcourt itself. In December 1969 Linday announced the conversion of the school from an academic school to a comprehensive school with academic, technical and commercial subjects being offered alongside each other in Std VII from 1971 progressing to the matric exams of December 1974. The change in the school's emphasis would result in a much larger school as local pupils who were previously educated outside the town could be educated in the town.
The symbolism on the shield is:
The crest depicts the hill on which the school was built and has decorations alluding to aloe
and acacia
, plants that are typical of the area. On the hill the English lion holding a flag showing a sheaf of wheat - the symbol of agriculture, a subject pioneered by the school.
The school motto Celer et Audax was also the motto of AC Martin’s old regiment.
In August 1945, at a meeting attended by parent and the local public, it was decided that the proposed school assembly hall would be a living memorial to the old boys who died on active service during the two world wars. and approached the Estcourt Town Council for donations. The town council obliged, but in 1948 the National Party
came to power and refused to fulfill the promises made by the previous administration and the hall was not completed until 1957.
In the event, when the railway line that ran alongside the school was doubled, the main road from Estcourt to Loskop was realigned to other side of the railway line and the school was able to acquire the land that was formerly occupied by the old Loskop Road. The Memorial Hall was built on the site this road. Among the exhibits in the foyer are the helmet and bayonet used by Quentin Smythe
, an old boy of the school, who was awarded the VC
for bravery in North Africa in 1942.
- Afrikaans Language poet and professor of Afrikaans at Stellenbosch University
(1960–1975). Opperman attended the Estcourt Government School before it was split.
Bobbie Heine-Miller - In the 1920s, and then into the 1930s, she was a French Open doubles champion, a Wimbledon finalist in doubles and a semi-finalist in Wimbledon singles, who rose to be ranked seventh in the world
Quentin Smythe
- Awarded the VC in 1942
Berry Versfeld
- Nominated Cricketer of the Year by the South African Cricket Annual - 1966
Henry Honiball
- South African Rugby player (1993–1999)
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
History
Estcourt High School was founded in 1924 from the upper forms of the Estcourt Government School when it was split into two.Estcourt Government School
After a number of attempts to establish private schools had failed due to lack of support, the town's first government school, the Estcourt Government School was established in 1886 with an initial role of 45 children. In accordance with the prevailing colonial policyEducation in South Africa
South Africa has a 3 tier system of education starting with primary school, followed by high school and tertiary education in the form of universities and universities of technology....
, the school only admitted pupils of European descent.
At the turn of the century, the Estcourt Government School had about 100 children and only offered formal education at primary level, even though the occasional bright student was coached at secondary level to enable them to enter university. In 1915 lessons in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
was offered for the first time and 75 children out of 115 took up the subject. Although there were a few children who spoke Dutch or Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
as their mother tongue, instruction in that language has to wait until 1945.
By 1924 the school had expanded to 226 children when the new headmaster, Major AC Martin MC arrived. Martin had been awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
during the First World War. That year four children sat the matriculation exam. This sparked a growth in demand for secondary education and in 1927 the school was split into two - Estcourt Junior School retaining the old school building and the high school moving to a new 10 ha site.
AC Martin's headmastership
Martin planned the new school as a co-educational school catering for both boarding and day pupils and by the end of his headmastership for both English and Afrikaans speaking pupils. During the first year of the schools existence on Hospital Hill, a hostel with 50 places was completed with a second hostel following in 1936. He was instrumental in the school having a coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
designed by the College of Heralds.
The school site was split into two by the Loskop road. Martin laid out the school's academic and hostel accommodation to the north of the road and the sports fields, consisting of two full sized cricket pitches, two rugby pitches and three hockey pitches to the south of the road. He persuaded the Estcourt Town Council to donate a further 8 ha of land to the school enabling it to offer the study of agriculture to its pupils. A swimming pool was opened in 1931 - the first for any state school in the province.
In 1934 Martin initiated the building of a separate science block, but it was not completed until 1941, by which time Martin had left the school. The block was named Martin Block in his honour.
R O Pearse's headmastership
The Second World War broke out in 1939 and in 1940 Martin, was recalled to his regiment, the Durban Light InfantryDurban Light Infantry
The Durban Light Infantry Regiment is a Mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army unit or United States Army Reserve Unit unit.-Formation and Name:...
. Martin, along with many school old boys and parents of pupils was later to be taken as a PoW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
at Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
. Three months after he left the school, Reg Pearse took up the headmastership of the school. Once the war had finished, Pearse set about expanding the school. Almost immediately he set about overcome administrative obstacles and developing strong ties with both the farming and town communities to negotiating funds for the Memorial Hall which was eventually opened in 1957. The increasing role of the school and the demand for places in the hostel lead to the building of a third hostel which was opened in 1955. By the time Pearse retired in 1965, 250 pupils out of a total of nearly 600 were boarders. Sporting facilities were enlarged with the swimming pool being enlarged a few years later bringing it to its current "L" shape.
The school's sports teams played against other schools across the entire province. Due to government-imposed restrictions under the Apartheid regime, the school was only permitted to field teams against other schools reserved for whites. As a result, the teams often had to travel 100 km for away matches. At Natal Schools sport tournaments, the school usually competed under the colours of North Natal Schools which fielded teams made up of players from all the North Natal secondary schools. In cultural events however such as debating and chess, the school's opponents were usually the private schools in the Natal Midlands or the state schools in Pietermaritzburg.
Subsequent headmasterships
Pearse retired at the end of 1965 and Mitchell Lindsay, the former deputy head who had joined the school in 1937 was appointed headmaster. Lindsay's wife, whom he married in 1943 was the former Jean Leiper, also a maths teacher who served the school from 1937 until 1970. In his first annual report given in November 1966, Lindsay announced that work done by himself and by Pearse had resulted in a grant of R235,000 (£117,500) had been made available for a major expansion program which included science laboratories, art rooms, domestic science rooms, an enlarged staff room, changing rooms for day boys and girls and a separate library. The additions were completed in early 1969 and eased the pressures on the school as the school's role rose from 480 in 1966 to 570 in 1968.Until the end of the 1960's the school had been an academic high school; technical and commercial subjects being offered at other schools in the province, but none of which were in Estcourt itself. In December 1969 Linday announced the conversion of the school from an academic school to a comprehensive school with academic, technical and commercial subjects being offered alongside each other in Std VII from 1971 progressing to the matric exams of December 1974. The change in the school's emphasis would result in a much larger school as local pupils who were previously educated outside the town could be educated in the town.
The school coat of arms
In 1927 Col Martin decided that the school should have a coat of arms that was designed by the College of Heralds. This was unprecedented in South Africa and necessitated correspondence with, amongst others, the provincial administrator, the interior minister, and the prime minister. The arms were eventually granted just before the school's golden jubilee in 1936.The symbolism on the shield is:
- The open book of learning – the heraldic symbol of an academic institute
- The green vertical triangles (or piles) that allude to the highest peaks of the DrakensbergDrakensbergThe Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
- Champagne CastleChampagne CastleChampagne Castle is a mountain in the central Drakensberg range, and is the second highest peak in South Africa. It contains a series of subsidiary peaks, amongst them, Cathkin Peak , Sterkhorn, Mount Memory, Monk's Cowl and Dragon's Back....
, Giant's CastleGiant's CastleGiant's Castle is a mountain peak in the southern African Drakensberg in KwaZulu Natal. Giants Castle offers visitors to the regions hiking opportunities with panoramic views. The Nature Reserve offers secluded accommodation, bushman rock art with easy access for everyone and about the best base to...
and Mont-Aux-SourcesMont-Aux-SourcesMont-aux-Sources is a mountain range in Africa, forming one of the highest portions of the Drakensberg. A sheer wall of 1,000 vertical ft., known as the Sentinel, can be found here. A basalt plateau which lies at an elevation of about 10,000 feet , it is mostly within Lesotho.Mont-Aux Sources was...
, all of which are visible from the school. - Two wavy white lines that allude to the TugelaTugela RiverThe Tugela River is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The river originates in the Drakensberg Mountains, Mont-aux-Sources, and plunges 947 metres down the Tugela Falls...
and OrangeOrange RiverThe Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
rivers, both of which rise in Mont-aux-Source - Blue dots that allude to the tears of Weenen - the scene of a Voortrekker massacreWeenen massacreThe Weenen Massacre was the massacre of Voortrekkers by the Zulu on 17 February 1838. After the murder of Piet Retief and his delegation, the Zulu chief Dingane sent his impis to exterminate the remaining voortrekkers who were camped at Doringkop, Bloukrans The Weenen Massacre was the massacre of...
in 1838.
The crest depicts the hill on which the school was built and has decorations alluding to aloe
Aloe
Aloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....
and acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
, plants that are typical of the area. On the hill the English lion holding a flag showing a sheaf of wheat - the symbol of agriculture, a subject pioneered by the school.
The school motto Celer et Audax was also the motto of AC Martin’s old regiment.
The Memorial Hall
At the end of the Second World War, the South African Government made funds available for the building of school halls on the basis that it would match whatever funds the school was able to raise.In August 1945, at a meeting attended by parent and the local public, it was decided that the proposed school assembly hall would be a living memorial to the old boys who died on active service during the two world wars. and approached the Estcourt Town Council for donations. The town council obliged, but in 1948 the National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
came to power and refused to fulfill the promises made by the previous administration and the hall was not completed until 1957.
In the event, when the railway line that ran alongside the school was doubled, the main road from Estcourt to Loskop was realigned to other side of the railway line and the school was able to acquire the land that was formerly occupied by the old Loskop Road. The Memorial Hall was built on the site this road. Among the exhibits in the foyer are the helmet and bayonet used by Quentin Smythe
Quentin George Murray Smythe
Quentin George Murray Smythe VC was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
, an old boy of the school, who was awarded the VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for bravery in North Africa in 1942.
Notable alumni
D. J. OppermanD. J. Opperman
Diederik Johannes Opperman was one of the best-known Afrikaans poets of the twentieth century.He was born on 29 September 1914 in Dundee in Natal, where he grew up. He went to school in the towns of Estcourt and Vryheid, and afterwards received an M.A. degree from the University of Natal...
- Afrikaans Language poet and professor of Afrikaans at Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape....
(1960–1975). Opperman attended the Estcourt Government School before it was split.
Bobbie Heine-Miller - In the 1920s, and then into the 1930s, she was a French Open doubles champion, a Wimbledon finalist in doubles and a semi-finalist in Wimbledon singles, who rose to be ranked seventh in the world
Quentin Smythe
Quentin George Murray Smythe
Quentin George Murray Smythe VC was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
- Awarded the VC in 1942
Berry Versfeld
Berry Versfeld
Berry John Versfeld was a first class South African cricketer who played for Natal and for the South African Universities XI and who was nominated Cricketer of the Year by the South African Cricket Annual - 1966Versfeld was educated at Estcourt High School and at the University of Natal.Versfeld's...
- Nominated Cricketer of the Year by the South African Cricket Annual - 1966
Henry Honiball
Henry Honiball
Henry William Honiball is a former South African rugby union footballer. He played at fly-half for South Africa during the post-apartheid era, although he was physically and technically acquainted in any back position....
- South African Rugby player (1993–1999)