South African College Schools
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| South African College Schools | |
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| Motto | Spectemur Agendo
Let us be judged by our deeds |
|---|---|
| Badge | Table Mountain (location) |
| Established | 1 October 1829 |
| Type | Primary and Secondary Schools |
| Headmaster | Ken Ball (High School)
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| Location | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Enrollment | 750 (High School)
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| Houses | Baxter (High School)
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| Colours | Navy Blue |
| Homepage | http://www.sacollege.org.za/ |
The South African College Schools, commonly referred to as SACS, is a prominent primary and secondary education institution located in Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1829 it is the oldest school in South Africa. The school is a combination of the South African College Junior School and the South African College High School.
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[edit] History
The South African College was started when in 1791, the Dutch Commissioner-General, Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist, asked for money to be set aside to improve the schools in the Cape. In 1814 when the British took over the control of the Cape Colony, under the first governor, Lord Charles Henry Somerset, permission was given for the money set aside by de Mist to establish the South African College.
The founding committee met in the Groote Kerk to discuss funding and accommodation for the school and on October 1, 1829, the inauguration of the South African College was held and the classes began. The original location of the school was in the Weeshuis on Long Street and moved to what is now known as the Egyptian Building in the Gardens district of Cape Town in 1841
It was decided in 1874 that the younger students should be separated from their older counterparts. The South African College was separated into the College which became the University of Cape Town and the College School.
The College School moved to its own building, separate from the College in 1896 in Orange Street. For the next few decades, the school became more and more successful and the building became too small for the amount of students attending the school.
In 1956 the school moved to its current home in the Montebello Estate in Newlands after a decade long negotiation with the Cape Administration.
[edit] School Buildings
The current school buildings are situated along Dean Street and Newlands Avenue in Cape Town.
The Junior School is located along Dean Street and is equipped with numerous fields for sporting activities, with which some are shared with the High School. The Junior School has a full length swimming pool with a smaller children's pool for the younger students. A number of tennis courts are also available to the students. The Junior School has a new Media Center which hosts state-of-the-art computer facilities, a brand new library and classrooms. The music department also has its own auditorium for cultural events and is also used for events with smaller audiences. The Junior School's boarding house is named after J E De Villiers.
The High School is closest to Newlands Avenue which also hosts a number of sport fields for the various sports which the school offers throughout the year such as Cricket, Rugby, Hockey, Athletics and Cross-Country. The swimming pool is mainly used for Water Polo and is also heated to facilitate training and usage in winter. The High School also recently had a brand new Media Center constructed with fully air-conditioned computer labs and library. The school hall is named after one of its most famous students, J H Hofmeyr. The boarding houses for the High School are the Michaelis House (for the junior students) and Rosedale House (for the senior students).
[edit] Sporting Activities
The students in both Junior and High Schools are divided into four houses, different in both divisions of the school. In both instances there are annual inter-house sporting events, as well as cultural activities. The events range from Cross-Country and Athletics, to Cricket and Rugby.
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.
A prestigious annual competition for both the High School and the Junior Scool, named the Triangular, is a chance for the students of three of the most prominent schools in the country to compete against each other on the track and field. The other two schools are Bishops and Rondebosch Boys' High School. The first meeting took place in 1935 and it has rotated between the three schools every year since.
The High School also plays host to various schools around the country in an annual Water Polo tournament during the September holidays. The visiting schools range from the traditional rivals from the area such as Rondebosch Boys' High School and Bishops, to other prestigious institutions such as Durban High School and Kearsney College.
The Junior School offers the following sporting activities for students throughout the year (incomplete):
- Cricket
- Rugby
- Hockey
- Cross-country
- Athletics
- Tennis
- Swimming
- Rock Climbing
- Judo
- Squash
The High School offers the following sporting activities for students throughout the year (incomplete):
- Cricket
- Rugby
- Hockey
- Cross-Country
- Athletics
- Tennis
- Swimming
- Water Polo
- Shooting (?)
- Squash
- Basketball
[edit] Cultural Activities
Both schools have a rich music heritage with extremely strong music departments. The High School choir often performs in the Cape Town City Hall with other schools such as Rondebosch Boys' High School and Rustenburg Girls' High School in collaborations of such works as Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in 2001. The choirs and bands of both divisions of the school competes in the Cape Town Eisteddfod every year at both group and individual events. The High School has two annual bursary competitions, the Christopher Brown and the Walter Swanson Competitions. These are designed to both give an evening of music from the highest standards as well as to encourage the music students to excel in which ever discipline they take part in.
The High School drama department is also very strong with annual dramatic productions as well as annual inter-house play competitions. Some recent notable performances are Guys and Dolls in 2000,Fame - The Musical in 2003 and Little Shop of Horrors in 2005.
Every year the school celebrates the founding of the school on Commemoration Day around September 20 (depending on which day it is every year). The High School trains a select group of volunteer students for the parade as well as a handful of centuries for the ceremony. The majority of the group take part as cadets for the parade and march from the Memorial Fields to the Major Quadrangle. The music department trains its students for the marching band. The Head Boy and a notable Old Boy of the school would then lay laurel wreaths at the plaques which commemorate those Old Boys who died fighting in World War I, World War II and the Korean and Border conflicts.
The SACS Mintek Science Team has been extremely successful in recent years of the competition with the regional finals of the competition being won in a recent encounter with Bishops.
Clubs and Societies in the High School (incomplete):
- Choir (Junior and Senior Choir, and Madrigal Ensemble)
- Band (Jazz and Concert)
- Drama
- Computer
- Photography
- First Aid
- Social Committee
- History Society Committee
- Music Society Committee
- Magazine
- SACSnews (school paper)
- Multimedia Society
- Interact
- Debate
- Christian Union
- Muslim Students Association
- Wine Club
[edit] The SAC
The school song was written by Rev. Dr. F C Kolbe with music composed by Sir Meiring Beck and first publicly performed in December, 1887. The original school song had three sections but only the first section is currently used. The SAC is well-known to all Old Boys as well as those students who attend the University of Cape Town since they share this as their school song. In the High School, the SAC is sang not at every morning assemblies but at the first and last assemblies of the school term as well as other special occasions such as Valedictory Service and the annual Academic Prize Giving events.
The S.A.C.
Is the College for me,
The best in the country round;
Wherever you go
The records will show,
Her equal has never been found!
For study or play, it is always the same
Wherever we be,
We spread the name, and swell the fame
Of the S.A.C.
[edit] Old Boys Union
The SACS Old Boys Union (OBU) is the oldest Old Boy (Alumni) group in the country. It is currently chaired by John Ince, notable Old Boy who was previously the Headmaster at Camps Bay High School and Guidance Counsellor at the Junior School.
[edit] Notable Old Boys
- Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann (South African-born British Judge)
- Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (politician)
- Justice Albie Sachs (current Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa)
- Martin Singer
- Percy Montgomery (current Springboks fullback)
- Peter Kirsten (former South African Cricket player)
- Ronald Singer (Archeology)
