Windhoek High School

Windhoek High School (WHS) is a school in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Popularly known as The Blue School, it was founded on 5 February 1917 making it is one of the oldest schools in the country.[1] Currently, WHS is rated among the top 100 schools in Africa.[2]

Headmaster (Principal)

[3] The current headmaster of Windhoek high school is Mr. Willem Hendrik Engels, (known as Hawie). Mr. Engels is a very humble, positive, God-anchored man with a vast pool of experience and knowledge to lead his fellow staff and the school to greater heights. Mr. Engels was born on 27 December 1962 in Gobabis. Together with his two younger sisters he was raised in his birth town by two very supportive parents. During his school years at Wennie du Plessis, he was not only head boy, but also excelled on the sports field, especially in athletics & rugby.

Brief History

1917: On 5 February 1917-Windhoek High School opens its doors and makes history as South West Africa's first secondary school. The medium of teaching is English. The first principal is Mr. WJG Anderson who opens the school with seven grade nine learners. 1919:The school badge and motto is established. 1921: The school's first four matrix learners write the National Examination. The school uniform makes its first appearance. 1923: School relocates from Robert Mugabe Street to its current location.

1932: School adopts Afrikaans and becomes a dual-medium school.

1935: WHS becomes the only tri-medium school in Southern Africa: English, Afrikaans and German. 1938: Building of school and Small hall is completed. 1952: School anthem is used for the first time. 1961: For the first time, more than 1100 learners are registered at WHS. 1962: Medium of instruction becomes Afrikaans. 1974: New school hall and laboratories are inaugurated. 1991: Namibia becomes independent. Reintroduction of English as medium of instruction in all classes. 1998: Internet is available to learners. 1999: The most successful sporting year ever.

Traditions

Windhoek High School is steeped in tradition and we pride ourselves on creating a bond between our learners and our school that lasts a lifetime. Tradition is what makes WHS unique and different. It unites everyone that is part of the blue school and turns learners, old scholars and teachers into a lifelong commitment.

Some of the 35 traditions that have helped to shape WHS over 90 years and of which we are proud with us in the next millennium are:

School badge and school motto (1919) School uniform (1921) School anthem (1952) House competition (1954): Kanniedood, Swarthaak and Wag-n-Bietjie. Rugby jersey of the first team (1960) Unique uniform of the Grade 11-12 learners (1965) Honorary code of new learners (1965) Senjol (1985) Annual year book (first 1920) Unique uniforms and customs of Student Council A tradition of excellent academic results and competitive participation in sport and cultural activities.[4]

Facilities

WHS features a school hall for nearly 800 people, a computer centre, science laboratories, and a media centre. It also has a word-processing centre, a cafeteria and a big stadium called Vegkop, and an indoor heated swimming pool.

Windhoek High School also has three rugby fields, four tennis courts, a soccer field, two hockey fields, four netball courts, a 300 square meter gymnasium, a basketball and volleyball court. WHS is consistently successful in many kinds of sport.[5]

Cricket ground

The schools cricket ground first hosted a major match when Namibia played Scotland in a Twenty20 match on 4 October 2011, with the teams playing one another the following day. Further Twenty20 matches were held at the ground in November 2011 when Namibia played Kenya in eight matches at the school.[6] In the fifth Twenty20 between the sides, Namibia's Louis van der Westhuizen scored 145 runs from 54 balls, which is the fifth highest score ever made in a Twenty20 match.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Windhoek high school website". wordpress. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "africaalmanac". Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Year book 2011
  4. ↑ http://www.whs-edu.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=29>
  5. ↑ "WHS are triple champions". The Namibian. 2009-08-24. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  6. ↑ "Twenty20 Matches played on Windhoek High School, Windhoek". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Individual Scores of 100 and More in a Twenty20 Match". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 November 2011.

External links

Coordinates: 22°34′06.75″S 17°05′20.75″E / 22.5685417°S 17.0890972°E