Westville Boys' High School
| Westville Boys' High School | |
|---|---|
Incepto Ne Desistam
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| Location | |
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Westville, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public school, boys |
| Established | 1955 |
| Locale | Suburban |
| Headmaster | Trevor Hall |
| Exam board | KZN Education Dept. |
| Grades | 8 - 12 |
| Number of students | 1300 boys |
| School color(s) | Red and blue |
| Pupil-teacher ratio | 25:1 |
| Website | www.wbhs.co.za |
Westville Boys' High School, often referred to as WBHS, is a public high school for boys located in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
2015 marked the 60th anniversary of WBHS as a high school. The roots of the school can be traced back to 1861, when German immigrant farmers operated a school from a nine by four metre wattle and daub structure sited on the main Durban-Pietermaritzburg road. They were the first large group of squatters to populate the area, named after Sir Martin West, the first Lieutenant Governor of Natal.
The next recorded date of a school in Westville was in March 1935 when the Westville Kindergarten School, a private farm school, first opened its doors. Under the guidance of Miss Gladys Carr, the school eventually outgrew the Church Hall used at the time. In 1941 the school was moved to Bernardo's House, an old house situated on the present school site. This residence on 6 acres (24,000 m2) of land had been bequeathed by Mr and Mrs Bernard to the people of Westville for educational purposes. It was near this site that the Outspan Tree, which marked the first overnight stop for the old ox wagons travailing to the interior, once stood. The Outspan Tree today forms part of the WBHS badge.
By 1944 the admissions roll had increased to 66 pupils. The following year the co-educational Westville Government School opened as a provincial institution and operated at primary level until 1955. In 1949, Bernard's House was demolished to make way for the new school buildings which were opened in January 1950. The year 2000 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of these buildings that today form the inner quadrangle of the school. A ceremony was held in recognition of the contribution made by the Bernard family, and a memorial in their honour was erected on the site of the original farmhouse.
Secondary education at Westville can be traced back to 1955 when a group of 21 pupils formed the first Standard Seven (Grade Nine) class of the then Westville High School. The secondary school initially co-existed with the infant and primary classes but by 1961 the last of those classes were accommodated in separate institutions.
In 1963 work on the building of a new Westville Girls' High School commenced and at the end of 1964, the split into the boys' and the girls' high schools was completed. The Headmaster who laid the foundation and guided the school into full secondary status was N. W. Bowden (1955–1963). The main sports field bears his name.
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Wikipedia