Saint Ignatius College (Zimbabwe)
Encyclopedia
St Ignatius College, is a high school near Harare
, Zimbabwe
.
St Ignatius College is a Catholic Jesuit College outside Harare
in Chishawasha, at 17°45'9.40"S and 31°13'20.02"E. The school is all male for forms one to four and is coeducational for A Level students. The school only accepts students of high academic merit along the same lines as a grammar school
by English standards. The students perform well in the national exams with a pass range typically between 98% and 100%.It is a linked school with St Augustine, Edinburgh.
St. Ignatius College is a full time boarding school, related to the St Ignatius' College
in England via the Jesuits who founded the college in 1962.
Father Anthony Watsham S.J. was a biologist, becoming a world authority in entomology. He spent much of his free time in the company of animals, dogs, birds and even a baboon namde 'Bibiana' at one time. A painter of great imagination, he decorated the Jesuit house at St Ignatius with abstract art. Some remember his extensive beard and soft spoken witty humor. One of his greatest academic achievements was to study and document the parasitic wasps that live inside figs. He was awarded an honorary life membership of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. There are several organisms now named after him (Watshami).
Fr Paul Edwards S.J. who served as Rector for close to a decade in the 1990s, taught Religious Education and coached both swimming and rugby, and additionally patron of The Chess team. Brother Fitz Fitzsimmons, who served as both the school's Senior Accountant, as well as Boarding Master of Junior House, since the college's founding.
In the mid to late 1990s, under the leadership of Headmasters Father Ber
idge and Mr Ignatius Mabveni, St Ignatius surpassed all its academic records, achieving 100% pass rate at O Level for five consecutive years. In the same period, the quiz team won two Regional Quiz crowns, as well as two consecutive National Quiz Championships in 1996 as well as 1997, with record points scored in the history of the competition.
, Scholars National Championships and Kushinga Chess Festival (Marondera). The Mary Ward chess team was also very strong. Players of note included Tariro Zulu, Adelaide Chiyangwa and Priscilla Nyahwo who had come from St Dominics Secondary School, the sister school of St Ignatius.
Sport also thrived during these years. In rugby, under coach "Winnabe" Mudavanhu the rugby team (the Hounds) become a competitive force at the Annual Cottco Rugby Festival. In 2000 the rugby team won the "Most Promising Team" at the Cottco rugby festival while going unbeated through-out the season.There was national recognition for the likes of Maxton Chisepo, Edmore Musasiwa and Tafadzwa Matimba. Provincial recognition went to Tafadzwa Mashayamombe(2002) and Tafadzwa Mugomo (2004).
In Track and Field St Ignatius boasted the talents of Tinashe Chimanikire, Baiwai Mutsau(1992–1995) and later Tafadzwa Shumba, Tapiwa Ndhlela(Discus) and Wrighton Chigumba (High Jump) (1995–2000), who dominated the short sprints competing at National level. In the later years Faraimose Kutadzaushe and Tafadzwa Ganyo dominated track and field up to national level (2000–2002). Basketball and Swimming would also enjoy significant success with notable contributions at both Provincial and National levels from the likes of Farai Zunguza, Stanley Mhizha, Bhero, Kuzi Mberi, Lovemore "LARRY" Chirombo, Paul Kadungure, who captained the team 1999 till 2000 and Farai Mose for basketball, while Sam Mboko, Walter Chisese, Iyanai Murimba, Tirivangani Chidyausiku (son of Chief Justice Chidyausiku, also a former student), Tafara Mbara, Tafadzwa Songore and the Manyerenyere brothers (Brightwell, Trust & Wise), with the help of Tariro Badza and Tinashe "TinTin Fyte" Mangwiro kept St Ignatius in the "A" swimming league.During all these activities a group of young men usually in Form 4 would lead the school in song and dance encouraging the athletes. Most notable of these was the Form 4 group of 2002. Amongst these boys was Takura "Taso Mukute" Mukupe, Takura "Luda" Taaziva, Michael " Vitamin Toxicity" Munyaka and your boy Natsai "Remusoro" Musunga.
Student life at St. Ignatius is dominated by three houses, separate from living accommodations, named Mkasa, Kagwa, and Lwanga. These groups compete with each other within the school for athletic, academic, and extra-curricular accolades.
Sporting disciplines offered at the college include track and field, rugby, basketball, swimming, volley ball, soccer and netball. A strong vulture culture (Chigora) was practiced with varying degrees of fervor among students. The names of the truly legendary practitioners can be found in the graffiti under the sink in the dark room of the senior house TV room. The Middle house TV room was also a room that was called the Baywatch (an act of peaking and appreciating the scene of Maryward Girls Swimming.
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
.
St Ignatius College is a Catholic Jesuit College outside Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
in Chishawasha, at 17°45'9.40"S and 31°13'20.02"E. The school is all male for forms one to four and is coeducational for A Level students. The school only accepts students of high academic merit along the same lines as a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
by English standards. The students perform well in the national exams with a pass range typically between 98% and 100%.It is a linked school with St Augustine, Edinburgh.
St. Ignatius College is a full time boarding school, related to the St Ignatius' College
St Ignatius' College
St Ignatius' College is a Catholic secondary school for boys, aged 11–18, located in Enfield, Middlesex. Formerly a grammar school, only accepting boys who had passed their Eleven plus exam, its educational philosophy was originally based upon the Jesuit precept of Ignatius of Loyola:Its current...
in England via the Jesuits who founded the college in 1962.
History
Several Jesuit fathers have spent a long time at St Ignatius College and are part of the history of the College. Father Gregory Xavier Croft S.J. spent most of his working life developing science education at St Ignatius and in Zimbabwe as a whole. He developed some of the best school laboratories for physics, biology and chemistry found in Zimbabwe. He co-authored Science for Zimbabwe, one of the first science textbooks written after independence in 1980. He retired in 1991 and continued with his passion for Physics at St Alberts in Mt Darwin, then moving on to St Boniface in Magunje. He died peacefully in Garnet House Harare in 2000.Father Anthony Watsham S.J. was a biologist, becoming a world authority in entomology. He spent much of his free time in the company of animals, dogs, birds and even a baboon namde 'Bibiana' at one time. A painter of great imagination, he decorated the Jesuit house at St Ignatius with abstract art. Some remember his extensive beard and soft spoken witty humor. One of his greatest academic achievements was to study and document the parasitic wasps that live inside figs. He was awarded an honorary life membership of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. There are several organisms now named after him (Watshami).
Fr Paul Edwards S.J. who served as Rector for close to a decade in the 1990s, taught Religious Education and coached both swimming and rugby, and additionally patron of The Chess team. Brother Fitz Fitzsimmons, who served as both the school's Senior Accountant, as well as Boarding Master of Junior House, since the college's founding.
In the mid to late 1990s, under the leadership of Headmasters Father Ber
idge and Mr Ignatius Mabveni, St Ignatius surpassed all its academic records, achieving 100% pass rate at O Level for five consecutive years. In the same period, the quiz team won two Regional Quiz crowns, as well as two consecutive National Quiz Championships in 1996 as well as 1997, with record points scored in the history of the competition.
Sporting history
Under the leadership and patronage of Father Edwards the chess team was a dominant player on the national chess scene for many years. The following students were members of the chess team over the years: Clemence Mupfiga, Hopewell Mauwa, Leonard Ndino, Langton Nyatsanza, Mufudzi Maviki (also a member of the all conquering Quiz team), Kudzanayi Chipoka, Bruce Mubayiwa, Cleyson Mupfiga and Paul Soko. The strength of the chess team was largely due to the investment in terms of time and resources made at the school combined with the passion and enthusiasm of the students for the game. Father Edwards invested significantly in chess sets and chess books. The chess team received a big boost with the investment in chess clocks. The chess team travelled extensively attending tournaments throughout the country. The success of the chess team saw it being a regular fixture in the national newspapers and on the agenda at the school assembly. Chess was played on a daily basis in Junior House, Middle House and Senior House. St Ignatius College was one of the top schools in the Barclays Schools Chess League alongside the Prince Edward High School team led by Robert Gwaze, (currently International Master. Other schools of note in chess were Churchill, Mabvuku Boys High, Morgan High, Victoria High and Gokomere. Robert Gwaze would go on to become African Junior Chess Champion and come very close to becoming a chess grandmaster in later years. Over a period of years beginning from the early 90s, St Ignatius achieved promotion from the Barclays Chess League in successive years until it reached the A league where it was very competitive winning the League on at least one occasion. Bruce Mubayiwa came 4th in the 1996 African Junior Chess Championships, held in Maputo, Mozambique. He was the National Scholars Chess Champion in 1997. Hopewell Mauwa won the Zimbabwe National Intermediates Chess Championship in 1994. The chess team scored notable successes at the following chess tournaments: St Johns Annual Chess Festival (Borrowdale), St Dominic's Chess Festival (Chishawasha)St Dominic's' Chishawasha
St Dominic's is a Roman Catholic girls school situated in Chishawasha, about 24 km from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.-History:St Dominic's was founded by the Dominican Sisters of the Dominican Order in 1896...
, Scholars National Championships and Kushinga Chess Festival (Marondera). The Mary Ward chess team was also very strong. Players of note included Tariro Zulu, Adelaide Chiyangwa and Priscilla Nyahwo who had come from St Dominics Secondary School, the sister school of St Ignatius.
Sport also thrived during these years. In rugby, under coach "Winnabe" Mudavanhu the rugby team (the Hounds) become a competitive force at the Annual Cottco Rugby Festival. In 2000 the rugby team won the "Most Promising Team" at the Cottco rugby festival while going unbeated through-out the season.There was national recognition for the likes of Maxton Chisepo, Edmore Musasiwa and Tafadzwa Matimba. Provincial recognition went to Tafadzwa Mashayamombe(2002) and Tafadzwa Mugomo (2004).
In Track and Field St Ignatius boasted the talents of Tinashe Chimanikire, Baiwai Mutsau(1992–1995) and later Tafadzwa Shumba, Tapiwa Ndhlela(Discus) and Wrighton Chigumba (High Jump) (1995–2000), who dominated the short sprints competing at National level. In the later years Faraimose Kutadzaushe and Tafadzwa Ganyo dominated track and field up to national level (2000–2002). Basketball and Swimming would also enjoy significant success with notable contributions at both Provincial and National levels from the likes of Farai Zunguza, Stanley Mhizha, Bhero, Kuzi Mberi, Lovemore "LARRY" Chirombo, Paul Kadungure, who captained the team 1999 till 2000 and Farai Mose for basketball, while Sam Mboko, Walter Chisese, Iyanai Murimba, Tirivangani Chidyausiku (son of Chief Justice Chidyausiku, also a former student), Tafara Mbara, Tafadzwa Songore and the Manyerenyere brothers (Brightwell, Trust & Wise), with the help of Tariro Badza and Tinashe "TinTin Fyte" Mangwiro kept St Ignatius in the "A" swimming league.During all these activities a group of young men usually in Form 4 would lead the school in song and dance encouraging the athletes. Most notable of these was the Form 4 group of 2002. Amongst these boys was Takura "Taso Mukute" Mukupe, Takura "Luda" Taaziva, Michael " Vitamin Toxicity" Munyaka and your boy Natsai "Remusoro" Musunga.
Life at St Ignatius
Students live together based on their form level: students in forms 1 and 2 live in Junior House; students in forms 3 and 4 live in Middle House; and in forms 5 and 6, male students live in Senior House, and female students live in Mary Ward House.Student life at St. Ignatius is dominated by three houses, separate from living accommodations, named Mkasa, Kagwa, and Lwanga. These groups compete with each other within the school for athletic, academic, and extra-curricular accolades.
Sporting disciplines offered at the college include track and field, rugby, basketball, swimming, volley ball, soccer and netball. A strong vulture culture (Chigora) was practiced with varying degrees of fervor among students. The names of the truly legendary practitioners can be found in the graffiti under the sink in the dark room of the senior house TV room. The Middle house TV room was also a room that was called the Baywatch (an act of peaking and appreciating the scene of Maryward Girls Swimming.
Notable alumni
- Dr Nkosana Moyo - former Government minister and a partner of Actis Capital, a London based Emerging Markets Private Equity firm
- Godfrey Chidyausiku - Chief Justice of Zimbabwe
- Francis Nhema - Zimbabwean Member of Parliament and Government Minister
- Antonia C. Guvava - Judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe
- Dr. Petina GappahPetina GappahPetina Gappah, born 1971, is a Zimbabwean writer. She writes in English, though she also draws on Shona, her first language.Gappah's first book, An Elegy for Easterly, a story collection, was shortlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the richest prize for the short story...
- Lawyer (International Law) and award winning writer of "An Elegy for Easterly" - Lt. Col Boniface Guwa Chidyausiku - Diplomat and Zimbabwe's Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations in New York