Grey College, Bloemfontein

Infobox Secondary school
name = Grey College Primary & Secondary Schools

motto = "NIHIL STABILE QUOD INFIDUM" (Nothing is steadfast if it is not true.)
established = 1855
city = Bloemfontein
state = Free State
country = South Africa
type = All-Boys Public School
headmaster =
students =
grades = 0 - 12
colours =
newspaper =
yearbook =
free_label_1 = Boarding Houses
free_1 = Murray, Brill, Leith
website = [http://www.gc.co.za/ Grey College]
Reunion website = [http://www.gcb.co.za/ Grey College Reunion]
footnotes =

Grey College is a public school for boys located in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa. Grey College is not to be confused with Grey High School in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape.

History

Grey College was founded on 13 October 1855 when Sir George Grey, the then Governor of the Cape Colony, paid a visit to the Orange Free State Republic and donated a sum of money towards the establishment of an institution for higher education. The foundation stone was laid by Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff, the second President of the Orange Free State Republic, on 13 October 1856. The school was officially opened on 17 January 1859 and the first headmaster was the Reverend Andrew Murray. It is the third-oldest school in South Africa and the oldest north of the Orange River. [cite web | work=www.africaalmanac.com|title=Africa's Top 100 High Schools| url=http://www.africaalmanac.com/top20highschools.html#50|accessdate= 13 February|accessyear=2008]

Afrikaans- and English-speaking pupils study under one roof, but each language group is educated in separate classrooms and in its own mother tongue.

The college first accepted matriculants for a full B.A. course in 1904. In 1906 the tertiary part of Grey College became known as the Grey University College (GUC), but shortly thereafter the school and college separated. GUC grew and evolved into the institution now called the University of the Free State.

Grey College today

The school grounds consist of a number of historic buildings, of which five have been declared national monuments. Extensive sport facilities includes a recently upgraded Olympic-sized swimming pool, a field hockey astro, a shooting range, a new squash court and several hockey, soccer, cricket and rugby fields. The school also has 16 all-weather tennis courts.

The school celebrated its 150th jubilee during October 2005, when numerous alumni visited their alma mater. The current headmaster at the High School is Johan Volsteedt and the headmaster of the Primary School is Lindsey Mould. A Museum which houses memorable artifacts, such as old rugby jerseys, and paintings, was unveiled in 2005. Each year on 13 October many old-boys hold a reunion.

In 2001 the school won the Sanix World Rugby Youth Tournament.

A trademark of the school is the unique handshake, widely recognized and used by students, old boys and members of staff.

Old Greys donate funds to the Jock Meyring Trust, a fund used for the administration of schoolgrounds and granting of scholarships.

Notable alumni

* Hansie Cronje, former South African cricket captain
* H.W.A. De Klerk
* Bismarck du Plessis, current Sharks and Springboks rugby player
* Jannie du Plessis, current Sharks and Springboks rugby player; Bismarck's older brother
* Morne du Plessis, former Springboks captain and member of the International Rugby Hall of Fame
* General Dennis Earp, former chief of the South African Air Force
* Bram Fischer, anti-apartheid activist and advocate for Nelson Mandela in the Rivonia Trial
* Blen Franklin, leading QC (Mandela's counsel in his striking off application), Supreme Court Judge and Sports Administrator.
* Steve Hofmeyr, South African singer, songwriter and actor
* Ryk Neethling, Olympic gold medalist swimmer
* Ruan Pienaar, current Sharks and Springboks rugby player
* Francois Steyn, current Sharks and Springboks rugby player
* Martinus Theunis Steyn, president of the Orange Free State
* Laurens van der Post, famous Afrikaner
* Pierre Van Ryneveld
* L.J. van Zyl, South African and Commonwealth Games champion in the 400m
* Bert Wessels, executive chairman of Toyota South Africa
* Kepler Wessels, former South African cricket captain
* C Theo Vorster, International Fashion Photographer with Glamour elite magazine

References

External links

* [http://www.gc.co.za/ Grey College's official site]