Wynberg Boys' High School
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| Wynberg Boys' High School | |
 |
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| Motto | Supera Moras
Overcoming Difficulties |
|---|---|
| Established | 27 August 1841 |
| Type | Secondary School |
| Headmaster | Keith Richardson |
| Location | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Enrollment | 850 |
| Houses | De Waal
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| Colours | Blue |
| Homepage | http://www.wbhs.org.za/ |
Wynberg Boys’ High School is a public high school for boys in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
It was founded in 1841 and is the second oldest school in South Africa. It had humble beginnings in Glebe Cottage under first Headmaster John McNaughton and changed site three times before moving onto its present site on Wynberg Hill in 1980. Today over 800 diligent boys are taught by approximately 50 teachers.
School activities at Wynberg are founded on four pillars namely: Academics, Sport, Service and Culture. The school has excelled in all four of these areas and has subsequently produced well-rounded pupils capable of entering a wide variety of careers.
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[edit] History
It was 165 years ago in 1841 that John McNaughton re-opened the doors of the future Wynberg Boys' High School in Glebe Cottage to sixteen pupils. Initially co-educational, this school made no distinction in respect of colour or creed.
John McNaughton was eventually granted an assistant to help him run his school, while the current headmaster, Keith Richardson, has nearly 50 full time and part time teachers to help him in the task of educating hundreds of young men.
Proud of its traditions and confident in its role of producing worthy future South African citizens, the school reacting to a burgeoning demand, has moved three times over the years until it eventually found a splendid home in 1980 on the top of the Wynberg Hill - a mere kilometre away from its original home, Glebe Cottage. Plato's injunction of "Education should take place amongst beauty" is certainly applicable in the case of the Wynberg Boys' High School of today.
Every year, in the last week of August, the school celebrates its traditional Founders Day. The history of South Africa is reflected in the schools history. When necessary, they have answered the call to arms in all the major conflicts which have afflicted this country in the last 165 years and the Role of Honour above the Garden of Remembrance recognises those who have made the supreme sacrifice.
Thousands of others have made the school what it is today and we bask in their reflected glory - Headmasters, Teachers, Coaches, Governors, Old Boys. Their contribution is acknowledged in the two school museums as well as in the two books written on Wynberg: 'The History of a School' (1961) by Doug Thompson who was a teacher of English at the school and 'A School Reflects' (1991) by Old Boy Roger Goodwin.
Former teaching staff include Jani Allan, famed South African journalist, who taught English literature.
The School's motto 'Supera Moras' can be translated literally from the Latin as 'Overcome Difficulties'. Generations of Wynberg Men have taken a less stilted translation : 'A Wynberg Man Never Gives Up.' This motto is given life in all four pillars of the school : Academics, Culture, Sport and Service.
[edit] Sporting Activities
Wynberg Boys' High School boasts a proud sporting tradition. The students take part in sporting competitions with schools from the area, Western Cape and sometimes from other parts of South Africa, as well as occasional competitions with visiting teams from other countries.
Wynberg has a tradition of being one of the most competitive sporting schools in South Africa, with the 1st team Hockey and Cricket sides being ranked number 1 in the country in 2002/3. Wynberg has also been competitive on the rugby field, competing with top South African schools such as Rondebosch Boys' High School, Diocesan College and Paul Roos Gymnasium. Matches between Wynberg and arch rivals South African College Schools draw large crowds and are often televised live on Supersport.
The school offers great sporting facilities such as an astro turf, a heated swimming pool, a multitude of tennis and squash courts, four rugby fields, and the renowned WBHS cricket field known as "The Oval."
Wynberg offers the following sporting activities for students throughout the year:
- Rugby
- Cricket
- Water Polo
- Hockey
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Squash
- Tennis
- Swimming
- Cross Country
- Table Tennis
- Shooting
- Basketball
- Golf
- Climbing
- Cycling
- Fencing
[edit] The Wynberg Argot (Slang)
- 'A' Corridor: Corridor consisting of administrative offices as well as the Headmaster's office and Masters offices.
- Alf Morris: Music centre
- Astro: 1st XI hockey turf
- Baggy Blue: Official school cricket cap.
- The Bell: A bell cast in the early 20th Century only to be rung to call assembly and by every boy on his last day in his final year. Strictly not to be rung by anyone else besides a prefect, master or leaving boys.
- Bill Bowden: Main rugby pavilion and squash courts.
- Blue Book: Pocket book to be carried by all boys at all times with essential school information and school diary. Considered to be part of school uniform.
- Blues: Colours award lower than Honours but higher than Colours.
- The Blues: 3rd XV rugby team
- Boater: Traditional straw hat worn by boarders.
- Cabbage Patch: Shrouded field down the hill from The Oval used mostly for lower rugby team practises. Officially the Oude Wijnberg Field.
- Colours: Lowest of the colours awards.
- Cooler: Being sent to your housemaster for disciplinary reasons.
- Fish Bowl: Fountain quad and school tuckshop complex.
- The Hollow: 1st XV rugby field
- Honours: Highest colours award.
- Khaki's: School summer uniform.
- 'IS': Free periods in between lessons allocated to boys in Grades 10 to 12.
- Long Grey's: School winter uniform.
- Matric Quad: Not an actual quad but a grassy hill reserved for Matrics.
- The Mile: Annual mile long race run around the school grounds between the eight houses.
- Mocks: Final year September examinations.
- The Oval: 1st XI Cricket field.
- The Patriots: Matric XI Cricket Team
- The Shield: The Friedlander Shield, competed for annually by the eight houses.
- Shooting Range: Field outside Alf Morris.
- Silverhurst: Victorian mansion which is the Headmaster's Residence.
- Stooge: Gap years at the school.
- Ten Club: Club consisting of the top ten boys academically in each grade.
- Tutor: Teacher in charge of a set number of boys of various ages within a House.
- Wynbergian: Termly humorous and witty magazine edited by elected boys.
[edit] Cultural Activities
Wynberg Boys' High School has a rich cultural heritage. The WBHS choir is particularly talented, with a large reportoire of songs ranging from jazz to classical. Choir members are offered professional vocal training in order to learn and improve special techniques. In addition to the choir, WBHS has three school bands, namely the Concert Band, the Steel Band and the Jazz Band. The Concert band has been particularly successful, excelling in the Cape Town Eisteddford as well as the Clash of the Concertos competition at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, and even performing at the Cape Town City Hall as a part of the Wynberg Campus of Schools Concert. Recently, the Wynberg Boys' and Girls' High bands have joined to form the Combined Band playing at many Inter-school events.
The Steel band is also an essential part of the WBHS cultural pillar. Performing throughout Cape Town, the Steel Band totalled 32 performances in 2005, including a televised performance at Newlands Cricket Ground in front of many spectators.
The WBHS Drama Department is one of the most respected school drama departments in the South Africa. Competing in the Cape Town Eisteddford, the WBHS drama department has been particularly successful, and the renowed Wynberg Major Production performed in conjunction with Wynberg Girls' High School always draws large crowds.
Additionally, WBHS offers a large Art Department. The art department encourages students to develop their creative skills and provides a platform for all aspiring artists to showcase their talents. In this sense, the Art room is seen as a haven for creative thought and artistic intellect.
Every year Wynberg Boys' High School holds a memorial day in which the founding of the school is celebrated. The school also pays tribute to Wynberg Old Boys who died fighting in World War I, World War II and the South African Border War
[edit] School Song
In a cottage 'neath the mountain,
Was the seed of Wynberg sown.
As an acorn to an oak tree,
Wynberg School has proudly grown.
Firm its roots and broad its branches!
Best of schools it stands alone!
[Chorus]
Supera Moras! Supera Moras!
This is the cry of Wynberg Sons.
We join now with those before us,
Supera Moras makes us one!
From the shelter of its branches,
Year by year go forth again.
All the heirs of its traditions,
Brothers in an endless chain.
Joined by pride and linked by honour!
Wynberg Boys they all remain!
[Chorus]
Supera Moras! Supera Moras!
This is the cry of Wynberg Sons.
We join now with those before us,
Supera Moras makes us one!''
[edit] Notable Old Boys
- Jacques Kallis, South African cricketer
- Allan Lamb, England cricketer
- Garth Le Roux, South African cricketer
- Charl Willoughby, South African cricketer
- Wayne Denne, South African field hockey
- Rob Louw, South African rugby
- Robbie Fleck, South African rugby
- P.A. Cronje, South African rugby
- Doug Hopwood, South African rugby
- Lionel Wilson, South African rugby
- Doug Holton, South African rugby
- David Stewart, South African rugby
- Reginald Schwarz, England rugby union team and South African cricket team
- Roy Dryburgh, South African rugby
- J. Martin, yachting
- Paddy Upton, Physical Trainer of the South African cricket team
- Jason Brown, editor of Men's Health and then Best Life magazine (South Africa)
- Shaun van Eeden, Cambridge Lecturer and England Youth Badminton
- Hendrik Verwoerd, Former Prime Minister of South Africa
