Jeppe High School for Girls

Jeppe High School for Girls is a high school that offers grades 8 to 12. It is located in Johannesburg, South Africa.Jeppe Girls is part of the Jeppe schools who have a common origin dating back to 1890.

History

The forerunner of the Jeppe Schools was St Michael’s College, founded as an Anglican private school on the corner of Commissioner and Crown Streets in Fairview. When the school opened in 1890, it had an enrolment of about twenty-five pupils. The Rector of St Mary the Less in Jeppestown, Rev H B Sidwell, was the first headmaster. He was succeeded in 1891 by the Rev George Perry.

In 1896 The Witwatersrand Council for Education purchased the college buildings and site as the school was struggling to exist. The council had been formed to enable the children of Uitlanders to receive the education not being provided for them by the state.

The Council re-opened the school as the Jeppestown Grammar School in April 1897. Mr J H Hardwick was appointed headmaster and 15 boys were enrolled. But financial problems soon after, forced the council to cut down on expenditure and Mr Hardwick and his staff were given notice. A committee of Jeppestown parents eventually bought the school which changed hands on 1 October 1898 for £2 500.

Mr Hardwick stayed on as headmaster. The Parents‘ Committee was led by Mr E Hancock. Julius Jeppe, F Eckstein and Abe Bailey were patrons of the school. The outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899 caused the school to close down; the number of pupils dwindled steadily and Mr Hardwick himself had left by September 1899.

After the war the school re-opened as the Jeppestown High School for Boys and Girls in the same buildings as the Grammar School before the war. It was one of the six “Milner” schools opened by the Transvaal Education Department and was one of the first co-educational schools.

In July 1919 the girls moved into their new red brick building comprising only the central wing of the present main building, having been housed in the Fairview Primary school for the first half of the year.

The exact date of the re-opening is unknown, but it was during the first quarter of 1902, for in a letter dated the 9 April, the Director of Education stated that the premises were inadequate for the number of pupils and that the teachers were refusing to work under these difficult and noisy conditions.

Miss E L Cummins, who had joined the staff of the school in 1904, was to be the first headmistress of the new girls’ school. She and Mr Payne worked on the plans for the new buildings, but Mr Payne did not live to see building commence in 1918 nor the separation of boys and girls at the beginning of 1919.

Headmistresses of Jeppe High School for Girls

Motto

The school motto is Forti Nihil Dificilius, which is Latin and means 'Nothing is too difficult for the brave'.

Sports

Jeppe Girls offers a full range of summer and winter sports, with specialist teachers and coaches. The school boasts well-maintained sports facilities and grounds.

Sports are offered at both the competitive and the recreational level to cater for learners with different abilities.

Hockey
Netball
Swimming
Tennis
Volley Ball
Orienteering
Cross-country
Soccer
Cricket

are all offered at the school. Jeppe Girls excels at hockey and netball, finishing in the top five schools every year.

Flower Show

The Flower show which is an annual event that takes place in spring every year. It is unique the Jeppe Girls and is regarded as a season favourite by many of the locals. Parents and old girls from far and wide come to see the elaborate displays created by the students.

Drumming

The corridors are often filled with the energetic and vibrant sounds of Mamela (the very talented Jeppe Girls drumming group).”Mamela” means “listen” The 21 members of the group make their music with djembe, dun-dun, ken keni and sangban drums as well as cow bells and rhythm sticks. Mamela compose some of their own rhythms but have also adopted traditional South African and West African pieces. The group under the leadership of Michelle Phillips, have performed at a number of events this year, from the opening of a computer Centre at the Johannesburg Technical College where Naledi Pandor, the Minister of Education was guest speaker, to the opening of International Fashion Week at Gallagher Estate.

External links

* [http://www.jeppegirls.co.za/ Jeppe High School for Girls]