Pretoria High School for Girls
Encyclopedia
Pretoria High School for Girls, also called Girls High or PHSG, is a public, fee charging, English medium
high school for girls located in Hatfield
, Pretoria
, Gauteng
, South Africa
.
Government built a Staatsmodelschool on the corner of Skinner and van der Walt Streets and a Staatsmeisjesschool (State Girls' School)on Visagie Street. By January 1900, with the war in full swing, the Staatsmeisjesschool had been commissioned as a hospital, while the Staatsmodelschool had been turned into a prison. Sir Winston Churchill
was captured by the Boers and imprisoned in the school building, but managed to make his famous escape from there and took the railroad into Portuguese East Africa.
which she had attended. She also adopted the motto, "We work in hope" to apply to the new girls school. In the schools first magazine she wrote:
"On the first re-opening nearly half the girls were of Dutch extraction. The school was opened and conducted with the earnest hope that here girls of different races and different denominations might meet in the commonwealth of letters which gave Erasmus and Shakespeare to the World; to acquire there, in accordance with the ideals of Christian Duty, the healthy physique, the trained mind and the disciplined character which should fit each to live worthily in that state of life unto which it should please God to call her.
It was amongst one of the first public schools to integrate during the transition period in South Africa from a political system of apartheid to a multiparty, multi-racial democracy. The school hoped to finally, legally realize its multi-racial dimension in its charter (" earnest hope that here girls of different races and different denominations might meet") as apartheid began to be dismantled. The first black pupil was admitted to Girls High in 1990 and was the daughter of a Malawi
an diplomat, SP Kachipande
. After that, a student vote where 80% of the students voted for PHSG to transition to an "open school" to enable it to admit South Africans from all races. The year after, a few more students from the Malawian embassy enrolled in the school and thereafter South Africans from other races. PHSG became the first white state school in Northern Transvaal (now Gauteng) to open its doors to girls of all races.During this time, the school was under the leadership of Ms. Ann Van Zyl, who later became headmistress of the prestigious St Stithians Girls
College in Johannesburg and Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
.By 1994, the school opened its doors to black South African students and became fully integrated. Apartheid was fully dismantled as the legal system in 1994.
's and Minister of health Aaron Motsoaledi
's daughters. The school has also had patronage from the diplomatic community, including diplomats from Chile, Malawi, Uraguay, and other international countries.
In 2009, they had a 99.9 percent Matric pass rate when one student failed. The school has also been recognized as a circle of Excellence School by the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation (Allan Gray company).
was registered by the State Herald
, and in 1990 a certificate bearing the coat of arms and confirming the 1936 registration was presented to the school by Mr F.G. Brownell, the State Herald at that time. The school magazine of that year includes an explanation of the coat of arms.Heraldic practice in English tradition is to depict the arms of unmarried ladies or widows on a Lozenge (heraldry)
(a diamond shaped shield). The lozenge makes a bold heraldic statement about feminism. By 1990 only three schools, Girton College in Cambridge, St Patricks Girls High School, Canada and PHSG had been given permission by Lord Lyon of Scotland to be able to display and use the arms on a lozenge.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
high school for girls located in Hatfield
Hatfield, Pretoria
Hatfield is a suburb in Pretoria with a high density of students and student accommodation due to hosting the University of Pretoria's main campus...
, Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
, South Africa
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...
.
Second Anglo-Boer War
In the 1880s the South African RepublicSouth African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
Government built a Staatsmodelschool on the corner of Skinner and van der Walt Streets and a Staatsmeisjesschool (State Girls' School)on Visagie Street. By January 1900, with the war in full swing, the Staatsmeisjesschool had been commissioned as a hospital, while the Staatsmodelschool had been turned into a prison. Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
was captured by the Boers and imprisoned in the school building, but managed to make his famous escape from there and took the railroad into Portuguese East Africa.
Lord Milner and the "Milner Schools"
With Pretoria under British control, it became apparent to Lord Milner, the Colonial Secretary at the time, that the educational facilities in the city needed attention as there was no secondary school for English-speaking pupils (and it was Milner's intention was to anglicize what would become the Transvaal). The Staatsmodelschool was duly refurbished. It was renamed Pretoria High School and became the first of the so-called "Milner" schools in the Transvaal, opening on 3 June 1901 with Charles Hope, who also founded Potchefstroom Boys High, as headmaster. Initial enrolment was 32 pupils, both boys and girls, which increased to 132 by August of that year.Formation of Pretoria High School for Girls
Mr Hope left 15 months later, along with the girls, who were finally accommodated into the old building of the Staatsmeisjesschool. By October 10, 1902, the school opened as Pretoria High School for Girls. It consisted of four teachers and 126 girls under Edith Aitken, but contrary to the name, taught both primary and secondary school pupils until these two groups were separated in 1905. Girls High moved out to its current Hatfield location on 28 July 1915. The primary school continued to occupy the Staatsmeisjesskool premises and is today known as Hamilton School.Edith Aitken (First Headmistress)
Edith Aitken, the first headmistress, was a remarkable pioneer who fought for higher education for women and was determined to bring together the various cultural groups, as is reflected in the School Charter she formulated. She modeled the school after the North London Collegiate SchoolNorth London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls founded in 1850 in Camden Town, and now in the London Borough of Harrow.The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Academically stunning outer London school in a glorious setting which, in 2003, demonstrated its refusal to rest...
which she had attended. She also adopted the motto, "We work in hope" to apply to the new girls school. In the schools first magazine she wrote:
"On the first re-opening nearly half the girls were of Dutch extraction. The school was opened and conducted with the earnest hope that here girls of different races and different denominations might meet in the commonwealth of letters which gave Erasmus and Shakespeare to the World; to acquire there, in accordance with the ideals of Christian Duty, the healthy physique, the trained mind and the disciplined character which should fit each to live worthily in that state of life unto which it should please God to call her.
World War II
During the 2nd World War, the school served the community by supplying items to the needy. This tradition has continued into the present day, with each pupil and staff member annually knitting a jersey, which is given to needy members of the community.Apartheid Era
Pretoria High School for Girls was designated a "white" school during the apartheid era in South Africa. The school was subject to the government's separate development policies resulting in schools segregated according to government determined racial categories. As a progressive school, Girl's High was one of the first white schools to embrace the "New South Africa".Even before President De Klerk's call for a new South Africa, Clem Sunter had addressed the "high road, low road" vision to integrate. PSHG was the first school under the Transvaal Education Department to open its facilities to pupils from the townships. Teachers here taught Saturday morning classes to 50 standard 9 pupils as part of St Mary's DSG Outreach Program.It was amongst one of the first public schools to integrate during the transition period in South Africa from a political system of apartheid to a multiparty, multi-racial democracy. The school hoped to finally, legally realize its multi-racial dimension in its charter (" earnest hope that here girls of different races and different denominations might meet") as apartheid began to be dismantled. The first black pupil was admitted to Girls High in 1990 and was the daughter of a Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
an diplomat, SP Kachipande
Percy Kachipande
Safiel Percy Kachipande was born in Ntcheu, Malawi. He is a former civil servant and diplomat for Malawi diplomatic missions to Germany, US and South Africa ....
. After that, a student vote where 80% of the students voted for PHSG to transition to an "open school" to enable it to admit South Africans from all races. The year after, a few more students from the Malawian embassy enrolled in the school and thereafter South Africans from other races. PHSG became the first white state school in Northern Transvaal (now Gauteng) to open its doors to girls of all races.During this time, the school was under the leadership of Ms. Ann Van Zyl, who later became headmistress of the prestigious St Stithians Girls
St Stithians College
St Stithians College is a Methodist church school situated on the border of Randburg and Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. It follows a co-ordinate educational model within a village of schools consisting of boys' and girls' colleges, boys' and girls' preparatory schools, and a junior...
College in Johannesburg and Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa is a girls-only boarding school that officially opened in January 2007 in Henley on Klip near Meyerton, south of Johannesburg, South Africa...
.By 1994, the school opened its doors to black South African students and became fully integrated. Apartheid was fully dismantled as the legal system in 1994.
Headmistresses
- Edith Aitkin 1902-
- Beryl Mullins 1971-1988
- Anne Van ZylAnne Van ZylAnne Van Zyl is a South African education administrator from Cape Town, South Africa. She is currently the headmistress of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. She has also been headmistress at five different schools including Pretoria High School for Girls, St. Stithians College, and...
1989-1995 - Alison Kitto 1995-2000
- Penny A McNair (2000-current)
Present Day
Currently, Girls High is a school with a diverse body of students of all races and nationalities. It is the aim of the School to produce well educated, balanced young women, who are adaptable, creative and independent, have integrity, social responsibility and respect, in an environment of inclusion and equality. Girls learn traditional subjects like home economics, biology, mathematics, science, history and art. They also may learn 'life skills' like knitting, wood shop and car mechanics. In 2006, Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor MP spoke at the valediction ceremony.Reputation
Girls High is a state school that is held in high esteem and is supported by influential people and organizations. It includes the children of Minister of finance Pravin GordhanPravin Gordhan
Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan is a South African political figure, serving as Minister of Finance since May 2009. He was previously the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service from 1999 to 2009. From 1991 and 1994, he chaired the Convention for a Democratic South Africa...
's and Minister of health Aaron Motsoaledi
Aaron Motsoaledi
Aaron Motsoaledi is the minister of health of South Africa.He was formerly an MEC in the Limpopo province for transport, agriculture and environment,and education.-References:...
's daughters. The school has also had patronage from the diplomatic community, including diplomats from Chile, Malawi, Uraguay, and other international countries.
Academics
PHSG is one of the top schools in Gauteng in academic achievement. They are listed in the department of education's top 100 list. PHSG has a rigorous academic curriculum,from 2004–2009, they have had a 100% Matriculation pass rate. PHSG also won the Most Improved Schools Awards of 2007 together with 10 other schools around the country. They won a prize for Excellence in Mathematics because 138 students attained a higher grade maths pass mark.In 2009, they had a 99.9 percent Matric pass rate when one student failed. The school has also been recognized as a circle of Excellence School by the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation (Allan Gray company).
Motto
The motto of the School is We work in hope, and has a Latin equivalent, Prosit Spes Labori.Coat of arms
In 1936, the school's 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...
was registered by the State Herald
Herald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
, and in 1990 a certificate bearing the coat of arms and confirming the 1936 registration was presented to the school by Mr F.G. Brownell, the State Herald at that time. The school magazine of that year includes an explanation of the coat of arms.Heraldic practice in English tradition is to depict the arms of unmarried ladies or widows on a Lozenge (heraldry)
Lozenge (heraldry)
The lozenge in heraldry is a diamond-shaped charge , usually somewhat narrower than it is tall. It is to be distinguished in modern heraldry from the fusil, which is like the lozenge but narrower, though the distinction has not always been as fine and is not always observed even today...
(a diamond shaped shield). The lozenge makes a bold heraldic statement about feminism. By 1990 only three schools, Girton College in Cambridge, St Patricks Girls High School, Canada and PHSG had been given permission by Lord Lyon of Scotland to be able to display and use the arms on a lozenge.
Uniform
The school uniform is a green dress with a blue blazer for cooler weather. A dark blue skirt and white dress shirt are required for winter with a dark blue blazer.Hostels
- North Lodge (on campus)
- School House (on campus)
- St Alban's Hostel (off campus): Now closed
Activities
Girls high hosts an annual Spring fair that is attended by Old Girls and current students.Alumni ('Old Girls')
Girls High alumnae are known as 'Old Girls' and there are Old Girls chapters in South Africa, Australia and England.Notable Alumni
- Myfanwy Bekker-BalajadiaMyfanwy BekkerMyfanwy Bekker-Balajadia is a South African artist and art teacher. Her work is shown in galleries and showrooms throughout the world. She is collected by private and corporate entities, and continues to produce, both for private commissions and retail galleries. She was born into a large and...
'65 - Artist - Sheila CamererSheila CamererSheila Margaret Camerer is a South African politician and senior Member of Parliament of the main opposition Democratic Alliance.Although Camerer's father, Robert Badenhorst-Durandt had been a Member of Parliament for the ruling National Party , as a young lawyer in the mid-1970s she worked on the...
— Politician - Pauline Myers - National Hockey Player