Westerford High School
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| Westerford High School | |
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Nil Nisi Optimum
(Nothing but the Best) |
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Cape Town, South Africa |
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| Information | |
| Staff | Rob le Roux (headmaster) |
| Enrollment |
950+ learners |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 1953 |
| Information | admin@whs.wcape.school.za |
| Colours | Maroon, gold and blue |
| Homepage | www.westerford.co.za |
Westerford High School is a public co-educational high school in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
It has a campus in Rondebosch where the main school buildings are located and a secondary campus in Newlands used for sport. The school is located close to the Newlands Rugby Ground and Table Mountain. The school opened on the 21st of January 1953 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2003.
Westerford enjoys a prominent position in the local community, hosting visits from key figures within South Africa such as the then President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela and guest speakers such as former Minister of Education Kader Asmal . [1]
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[edit] History
Westerford opened at the beginning of January 1953, housed in an old homestead which unfortunately no longer exists. The site was originally known as Westervoort, but the school was known as Claremont Secondary School from the name of the school which shared a property with a small primary school on Dean Street. The pupils from Claremont Secondary school had transferred their desks to the new property at the end of 1952 [2]
Noel Taylor, the first headmaster, began referring to the institution as Westerford Secondary school and in 1953 the Cape School Board recognised the name. In 1956 when the first pupils matriculated the school became Westerford College.
The institution enjoyed rapid growth from 29 pupils to 34 in its first year and then growing further until 1959, when a new hall, named for the first headmaster, was opened as part of new school buildings for the 504 pupils and 27 staff members employed.
[edit] Origin of School Badge
The first headmaster, Mr Noel Taylor is credited with the design of the logo. It is said that when he paid a visit to the site where he spotted many a cape badger nestling amongst the undergrowth he started teaching at Simonstown High School that day he saw the sun setting behind Devil's Peak,the badgers began to nestle and the light shining through the oak trees on the property. Based on this scene he sketched the design which is still in use today. However, the badge is also very similar to nearby Oakhurst Primary School (established 47 years earlier) and the two schools share the same motto.
[edit] Campus
The institution is currently based on the same site as the original homestead, although no trace of the homestead remains. The school now has extensive buildings for use by the students, including a dedicated sports centre and technology block.
[edit] Students
The school has 950 pupils in 5 grades from ages 13 to 19. There are equal numbers of girls and boys in class sizes up to a maximum of 41.
A Westerford Matric pupil, Wiebke Louise Toussaint, was placed 12th in the Senior Certificate Examination results for 2005 [3]. The school also received a book voucher award in the Senior Certificate Awards for 2005 [4] for achieving excellent academic results based on the criteria of a pass rate of at least 96%, a matriculation endorsement rate of 70%, a merit pass rate of 45% and a distinction pass rate of 15%. In July 2006 two Westerfordians were finalists in the national English Olympiad - Anique Greyling was placed 8th and Joanna Mostert achieved the top position in the country.
Every year the school holds a celebration that honours pupils with outstanding achievements in the field of excellence.
[edit] Faculty
The current school headmaster is Mr Robert le Roux, and the school has nearly 60 teaching, administration and maintenance and grounds staff.
[edit] Former School Headmasters
- Mr Alan Clarke
- Dr John Gibbon
- Mr Noel Taylor (founder)
[edit] Extracurricular activities
The institution currently has over 40 clubs and societies actively run by pupils. These are involved in many facets of the schools life from art and culture through to religion, politics and social welfare.
[edit] Curriculum
Westerford has a strong cultural tradition, with a drama and music department. Students have nine specific learning areas in grades 8 and 9 and eight subjects for grades 10, 11 and 12.
[edit] References
- ^ Asmal, Kadar. Speech at the Millennium Minds Educational Computing Conference.
- ^ Armoria academica - Westerford.
- ^ WCED - Merit List 2005.
- ^ WCED - School Awards 2005.
