South African College Schools
| South African College Schools (SACS) | |
|---|---|
 SACS Badge Let us be judged by our deeds | |
| Address | |
|
Newlands Avenue (High School) Dean Street (Junior School) Newlands, Cape Town, Western Cape, 7700 South Africa | |
| Information | |
| Founded | 1 October 1829 |
| Headmaster |
Kenneth Ball (High School) François Nel (Junior School) |
| Grades | R-12 |
| Enrollment |
780 (High School) 650 (Junior School) |
| Language | English (primary) |
| Houses |
Baxter (High School) Hofmeyer (Junior School) |
| School colour(s) | |
| Song | The S.A.C. |
| Accreditation | Senior Certificate, GCE A-levels |
| Tuition |
R 26 000 (High School) R 35 500 (Junior School) |
| Website | http://www.sacollege.org.za |
The South African College Schools is a primary and secondary education institution in Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1829,[1] it is one of the oldest schools in South Africa. SACS is one of four schools expressly named by Cecil John Rhodes to offer an annual Rhodes Scholarship to one of its graduating students.[2] The schools are a combination of the South African College Junior School and the South African College High School.
History
The concept of the South African College was first formed in 1791 when the Dutch Commissioner-General, Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist, asked for funding to be set aside to improve schooling in the Cape. After the British took over control of the Cape Colony the second colonial governor, Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC, gave permission for the funds reserved by de Mist to be used to establish the South African College in 1814.
The founding committee met in the Groote Kerk to discuss funding and accommodation for the school and on 1 October 1829, the inauguration of the South African College was held and 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.[3]
The College School moved to its own building on Orange Street, separate from the College, in 1896. For the next few decades, the school grew and the building became too small for the number of students attending.
In 1959 the school moved to its current home in the Montebello Estate in Newlands,[4] former home of the mining magnate Sir Max Michaelis, after a decade-long negotiation with the Cape Administration.
Coordinates: 33°58′13.45″S 18°27′36.38″E / 33.9704028°S 18.4601056°E
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, of 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 Centre which hosts computer facilities, a 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. 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 new Media Centre constructed with air-conditioned computer labs and library. The school hall is named after one of its most famous students, Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr. The boarding houses for the High School are the Michaelis House (for the junior students) and Rosedale House (for the senior students).
Uniform
The traditional school colour of navy blue was determined in the 1880s when SACS pupils purchased the only pattern available of alternating white, light- and dark-blue horizontal stripes from Porter Hodgson's Outfitters in Cape Town. Prior to this, the pupils wore what they could afford while still being presentable.[5]
Rhodes Scholarship
When Cecil John Rhodes died in 1902, he specifically named the South African College in his will as one of four schools in the Cape Colony where the Rhodes Scholarship would be awarded on an annual basis for a former student to study at the University of Oxford.[6]
Old Boys' Union
The SACS Old Boys' Union (OBU) is the oldest Old Boy (Alumni) group in the country. John Ince (1936–2010) — a notable Old Boy who was previously the Headmaster at Camps Bay High School, teacher at the High School, and Guidance Counsellor at the Junior School — served as Executive Director of the OBU until recently.
Notable Old Boys
- Captain Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor VC, DSO, MC and bar, DFC
- Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr — former Deputy Prime Minister of South Africa, Minister of Finance and Education, Administrator of the Transvaal and Rhodes Scholar
- Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann PC — former senior British justice
- John Ince — educator, former president of the South African Teachers' Association and Headmaster of Camps Bay High School, Cape Town [7]
- Solly Kessler — statesman and anti-Semitism legal expert [8]
- Peter Kirsten — former South African cricketer
- Nicolaas Petrus van Wyk Louw — Afrikaans-language poet, playwright, and scholar
- William Ewart Gladstone van Wyk Louw — Afrikaans-language poet
- Percival Colin "Percy" Montgomery — former South African rugby union footballer and 2007 Rugby World Cup winner
- Dr. Cecil Moss — former South African rugby union footballer
- Sir Allan Mossop, Chief Judge of the British Supreme Court for China
- Albie Sachs — former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa [9]
- Stephen Simpson — race car driver and former A1 Grand Prix Team South Africa driver
- Ross Skeate — rugby union footballer for RC Toulon and formerly for Stormers and Western Province rugby union teams
Percy Montgomery - Simon Walker — British business executive, government advisor and Director General of the UK's Institute of Directors
- Eric Lloyd Williams — journalist and World War II correspondent
- Solly Zuckerman, Baron Zuckerman OM, KCB, FRS — British zoologist, public servant and key World War II Allied strategic advisor
See also
References
- ↑ Everhardus Cornelis Gode Molsbergen (2009). A History of South Africa for Use in Schools. BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009. p. 186.
- ↑ Rhodes, Cecil John. "Will and Condicils of the Rt Hon. Cecil John Rhodes." (PDF). Rhodes Trust, University Press Oxford. p. 10.
- ↑ Standard encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Volume 10. NASOU. 1976. p. 96.
- ↑ Honikman, A. H. (1966). Cape Town, city of good hope. H. B. Timmins. p. 63.
- ↑ van der Fort, Fouzia (11 May 2005). "School uniforms - what purpose do they serve?".
- ↑ Nuttall, Tim (3 January 2009). "Rhodes Scholarships in Southern Africa".
- ↑ Belling, Suzanne (December 2005). "Obituary: Solly Kessler".
- ↑ Barron, Chris (2010-10-17). "Obituary : John Ince: Legendary headmaster".
- ↑ Sachs, Albie (1992). Advancing human rights in South Africa. Oxford University Press. p. iii.
Further reading
Veitch, Neil (2003). SACS 175 - A Celebration. Cape Town: SACS 175 Book Committee. p. 260.