Kutama College (officially St Francis Xavier College), is an all-boys high school located near the town of Norton in the Zvimba area, 80 kilometres southwest of the Zimbabwean capital Harare. Kutama has a student population of about 700 pupils, and is considered one of Africa's top 100 high schools (#61 in 2003).[1]
The school moto "Esse Quam Videri" is Latin meaning "to be, rather than to seem". This is interpreted in the school as the more succinct "be what you are", reflecting the school's aim to instill pride in its students. In addition to academic learning, students participate in sports (including soccer, volleyball, basketball, table tennis), chess and (debating.
Like most high schools in Zimbabwe, which follow the traditional British school system, students at Kutama are divided into four houses each having its own color: Champagnat (blue), Patrick (yellow), Chichester (red), and Michael (green). They are named after Marist Brothers, such as Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist movement.
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Founded prior to the Second World War by C.Ks, Kutama was one of the first institutions to offer high school education to students of African descent in colonial Rhodesia. Its Jesuit origins are reflected in its official name, St Francis Xavier College. The school is part of Kutama Mission, a Catholic mission originally run by Jesuits but now run by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic order devoted to educational work.
The school's first Headmaster was Father Jerome O'Hea, an Irish priest after whom the local mission hospital is named. Its most famous Headmaster was James Anthony ("Jachi") Chinamasa , a Kutama College old boy and elder brother of Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. The present headmaster is Br Bernard Chirombe, who served as deputy headmaster under Mr Stephen Muchenje who retired at the end of 2008
The Kutama Old Boys Association (KOBA) is one of the oldest 'old boys' associations in Zimbabwe.