St George's College, Harare

. St. Michael's School (Grades 1-3)in Borrowdale often begins the journey to St. George's. Boys attend kindergarten there before commencing to Hartmann House, where they complete (Grades 4-7).It is a very competitive School for one to enter,as an entrance examination has to be taken to enter Form One. Students coming from Hartmann House are not exempt anymore from these exams. "A" grades at ordinary Level are necessary to enter the Lower Sixth Form. Those students who do not attain the necessary grades(those already at the school) are not allowed to return into the Sixth Form. Reeigios Education is compulsory throughout the 6 years.

The school has a long and distinguished history of liberal philosophy and excellence in education. This tradition continues today.The school has a family oriented approach to academic and extra-curricular studies.It has a collegiate (house) system which consists of 4 houses which are distinct and identified by the colours associated with each house. Every Student belongs to a house, and there is a housemaster who is assisted by other members of Staff, the House Captain and House Prefects. The Houses are :- Hartmann House - Navy Blue; Barthelemy House - Dark Green ; Gardner House - Red & Johanny House - Yellow. The names of the Houses are obtained from Jesuit fathers who played an instrumental role in establishing and developing the school. These House System is also applied to Hartmann House preparatory School.Sons,Nephews and Grand-Sons automatically inherit the House in which their Fathers,Uncles and Grand-Dads were in. St. Michaels has a 4 house system,but does not correspond to the Hartmann House and St George's College One.Its houses are - St. Patricks;St. Davids; St. Michaels and St. Andrews. Due to the religious Christianity based beliefs of the Jesuits, who were the principle founding fathers, during the Rhodesian era of political racial discrimination of people,society and institutions, St. George's College was one of a few multiracial schools offering top rate education for all in a segregated Rhodesia.

History

It was founded in 1896 by a French Jesuit, Father Marc Barthélemy, who, on the 7th of February, opened the doors to a small corrugated-iron, two-windowed hut to admit the first six Pupils to Bulawayo Boys' School, with its location in Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia). In 1898, a more permanent building was erected, and in December of that year, at the first Prize-Giving, the school assumed the title St. George's Boys' Public School. In 1899, Fr. Francis Johanny joined the staff and set up the Cadet Corp. Three years later, Fr. Thomas Gardner, the first English Jesuit arrived. In the same year, 1902, the first Rhodes Scholarships were awarded in Rhodesia, and they went to St. George's boys Albert Bisset and Woodford Gilbert. In 1912 the first permanent building were completed and opened by Earl Grey.

St. George's College moved to Salisbury(now Harare) in 1926. The Architect of the buildings was Fr. Louis Leboeuf and the main builder was Br. John Conway S.J. The Beit Hall as opened in 1935 by Sir Robert Stanley. In 1940 the library was built, then the 'Monastery' and later the 'Priory'. In 1955, the new Dormitory Wing and Laboratories were built, and later, in 1973, The permanent Chapel was erected. The Chapel is the Centre of life at Saints.

The House System

The Houses at St. George's College are named after the four prominent Jesuits, who were among the founding fathers of the School in Bulawayo.

Fr. Mark Barthelemy - First Rector(1896-1913)

Fr. Thomas Gardner - First ENglish Jesuit, and a notable anthropologist and a champio of the Cadets

Fr. Andrew Hartmann - The Chaplain to The Pioneer Column in 1890

Fr. Francis Johanny - Second Rector in 1914

The House System started on Wednesday, March 16 1938, with three Houses. The fourth House - Johanny - was inaugurated in 1982. Each boy inherits the house of his previous relatives and 'new' boys are allocated on a random basis.

Rhodes Scholarships

There have been over thirty Rhodes Scholarships awarded to those who once donned the Red Blazer.

World Wars

In the First World War, 198 Old Georgians (O.G'S) volunteered and 26 were killed. In the Second World War 438 O.G's served and 58 were killed. The names of the deceased are displayed in the Boarder's Chapel(in the main building).

Sports

St George's College has always among the best in the Sporting Arena, with a huge variety of sports being participated in. A large proportion of Zimbabwe Age-Group teams include boys from Saints. The College has a variety of Sporting facilities, including:-The first team Rugby pitch-WEAVER, , -The First Team Cricket pitch-MADDEN, -An athletics field-FORD

The other sporting Grounds are GANLEY, CONNELL and LANDRETH. In Summer, all grounds are used for cricket, and in winter, they are shared between Hockey, Rugby, and Football. The First Team Rugby Pitch lies dormant in Summer, and those apart from the First-Team squad may not set foot upon this field, at anytime. The consequences are usually severe.

There are also two squash courts, eight tennis courts, three basketball courts, a shooting range and a large swimming pool, where waterpolo is played. The Beit Hall is used for Badminton.

Alumni

In 1921, the Old Georgian's Association was formed and its first president was Mr. D. Blackbeard

-Some Notable Alumni include-
* Andrew Buckland - Actor/playwright [ [http://www.ru.ac.za/academic/departments/drama/staff.htm#Andrew] ]
* Brian Dzingai - 200m Beijing Olympic 2008 - Athletics Finalist
* Munesu Denya - Actor
* Richard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron Acton - British Labour politician;
* Patrick Zhuwao - Zimbabwe Member Of Parliament & Robert Mugabe's nephew and Zanu PF strongman
* Grant Flower & Andy Flower - Zimbabwe Test Cricketers
* Brian Murphy - Zimbabwe Test Cricketer
* Gavin Rennie - Zimbabwe Test Cricketer
* Trevor Gripper - Zimbabwe Test Cricketer
* Ivor Leroux - Zimbabwe Olympic Swimmer
* Evan Stewart - World Champion Diver

Alumni affectionately known as (Old Georgians-O.G.'s) include Rhodes Scholars who attended Oxford University, Cambridge University and Ivy League universities. Alumni who "donned the Red Blazer", achieving the difficult task of attending St. Michael's, Hartmann House and St. George's College, are known as Old Michaelians (Reds).

St. George's was recognized as one of Africa's leading schools. [ [http://www.africaalmanac.com/top20highschools.html top20highschools ] ]

Publications

The Chronicle has been published every year since 1933, with the exception of a few years during the Second World War. In 1996, to mark the 100th anniversary of the College, a book by Terence McCarthy was published-"Men For Others"

External links

* [http://www.stgeorges.co.zw/Index.asp Official site]
* [http://www.henrytrotter.com/scholarship/st-georges-college.html Life at Saints] An American teacher's experience at Saint George's in 1995