St John's College (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Encyclopedia
St John's College is a private
school for boys in Houghton, Johannesburg
, Gauteng
, South Africa
.
It was founded by Rev. John Darragh
the rector of St Mary's Anglican Church, Eloff Street, Johannesburg. He persuaded his parish council of the need to establish an Anglican school for boys. His curate Rev. JL Hodgson was appointed the first Headmaster.
The first classes started in a house in Plein Street, Johannesburg with two desks and seven pupils aged six to 14. However the school was forced to close a year later at the end of 1899 owing to the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War. St John's re-opened in 1902 two months after the signing of the peace treaty, and grew rapidly under Rev. Hodgson and eight staff.
Soon there were 180 boys which was too many for the Plein Street premises, and St John's moved to larger premises in a wood and iron building near the Union Grounds between Joubert Park and the old Wanderers (now Johannesburg’s main railway station).
However, the British colonial government under Lord Milner was ideologically opposed to private school
s believing that they were not beneficial to society. Over the next few years the school’s enrolment plummetted as a result of policies introduced by the Transvaal administration, including the creation of public schools (such as King Edward VII School) within a short distance of their private counterparts. By 1903 45 state schools were open across Johannesburg.
In 1904 the St Mary’s parish was relieved of the responsibility for StJC which became a Dioscesan institution. However by 1905 St John’s was facing closure, and an approach was made by the Diocesan Board of Education to the Community of the Resurrection (an Anglo Catholic order of missionary priests and lay brothers) to take over the school. In 1906 Father James Nash became the new headmaster and oversaw the move north out of the city to the current site on 56 acres (226,624.2 m²) across Houghton Ridge.
In 1907 the School had opened in Houghton and accepted its first boarders. By then it had 100 boys, and four College houses had been instituted: Nash, Thomson, Alston and Rakers (which became Hill in 1910).
Sir Herbert Baker
designed the new Hoghton school buildings and initially used rough-hewn quartzite quarried on the site, but subsequently rock was sourced from Krugersdorp and hand-chased by Maltese craftsmen. The school is arranged around a number of quadrangles, each with its cloisters. Leonard Fleming later worked with Baker on certain of the buildings.
The College has two chapels, a main one and a crypt chapel. Construction began in 1915 on the Crypt Chapel designed by Frank Fleming as a foundation for the main chapel. The Crypt Chapel seats about 100 pupils, and is adjacent to the Garden of Remembrance. Each House of the College has a week in which it is to attend the chapel service in the crypt.
Above the Crypt Chapel is the War Memorial Chapel. The superstructure was completed in 1925 and dedicated in 1926 to commemorate staff and pupils who fell in battle. Inside the War Memorial Chapel is the Delville Wood (All Souls) Memorial Chapel, which houses one of only five Delville Wood crosses in the world. It seats about 500 pupils, including staff, and has a fully functioning pipe organ
and a choir gallery at the rear of the chapel above the main entrance. Its pipe organ is the largest of its kind in South Africa.
The War Memorial Chapel has an "M" engraved into one of its outside walls. This bears a great significance to the political and educational front in South Africa as it records Lord Milner's concession that his policy was wrong and that private schools had a place in society.
The Community of the Resurrection handed over their charge to the Diocese of Johannesburg in 1934, and in 1935 Rev S.H. ‘Nobby’ Clarke begins his 20 years as Headmaster.
In 1955 Deane Yates
became the first lay
headmaster. By then there were 664 boys, 375 in the College, 100 boarders in the Prep.
Today there are five stages to a St John's education:
The "Number 1s" uniform consists of charcoal trousers, a collared long-sleeve white shirt, tie in the school colours (navy and burgandy stripes), black standard-issue school shoes, black socks and a navy blue blazer. It may be supplemented by a charcoal v-necked jersey. It is required dress for formal events and is the official winter uniform.
Number 2s
"Number 2s" or "khaki's" consist of khaki shorts and a collared khaki shirt. Black standard-issue closed shoes may be worn with long khaki socks, or closed toe sandals. For formal occasions the school blazer must be worn. "Number 2s" are the summer uniform as an alternative to the "Number 1s" and are to help pupils cope with the extremely warm South African summer.
Scrolls (or half-colours)
These are only awarded to pupils with a minor sporting, cultural or academic achievement and are woven onto the school blazer, right underneath the school badge.
Colour blazers
These are awarded to scholars with major sporting, cultural, or academic achievement. It differs from normal blazers, because it is maroon with tiny navy stripes, with a golden eagle (the school's emblem) on the front breastpocket. Underneath the brestpocket, the type of achievement is woven on.
Honours blazers
These are awarded to pupils with any excellent sporting, cultural or academic achievement. It consists of tiny maroon and navy stripes, packed closely together. It also has a golden eagle stitched on the front breastpocket, with the achievement stitched underneath it.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
school for boys in Houghton, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
History
St John's College was founded in Johannesburg on 1 August 1898 and is an Anglican school.It was founded by Rev. John Darragh
John T. Darragh
John Thomas Darragh D.D. was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, who served as a priest and school master in the Anglican Church in South Africa in the late nineteenth century, at Kimberley and in Johannesburg, where he was the founder of St John's College....
the rector of St Mary's Anglican Church, Eloff Street, Johannesburg. He persuaded his parish council of the need to establish an Anglican school for boys. His curate Rev. JL Hodgson was appointed the first Headmaster.
The first classes started in a house in Plein Street, Johannesburg with two desks and seven pupils aged six to 14. However the school was forced to close a year later at the end of 1899 owing to the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War. St John's re-opened in 1902 two months after the signing of the peace treaty, and grew rapidly under Rev. Hodgson and eight staff.
Soon there were 180 boys which was too many for the Plein Street premises, and St John's moved to larger premises in a wood and iron building near the Union Grounds between Joubert Park and the old Wanderers (now Johannesburg’s main railway station).
However, the British colonial government under Lord Milner was ideologically opposed to private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s believing that they were not beneficial to society. Over the next few years the school’s enrolment plummetted as a result of policies introduced by the Transvaal administration, including the creation of public schools (such as King Edward VII School) within a short distance of their private counterparts. By 1903 45 state schools were open across Johannesburg.
In 1904 the St Mary’s parish was relieved of the responsibility for StJC which became a Dioscesan institution. However by 1905 St John’s was facing closure, and an approach was made by the Diocesan Board of Education to the Community of the Resurrection (an Anglo Catholic order of missionary priests and lay brothers) to take over the school. In 1906 Father James Nash became the new headmaster and oversaw the move north out of the city to the current site on 56 acres (226,624.2 m²) across Houghton Ridge.
In 1907 the School had opened in Houghton and accepted its first boarders. By then it had 100 boys, and four College houses had been instituted: Nash, Thomson, Alston and Rakers (which became Hill in 1910).
Sir Herbert Baker
Herbert Baker
Sir Herbert Baker was a British architect.Baker was the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, 1892–1912....
designed the new Hoghton school buildings and initially used rough-hewn quartzite quarried on the site, but subsequently rock was sourced from Krugersdorp and hand-chased by Maltese craftsmen. The school is arranged around a number of quadrangles, each with its cloisters. Leonard Fleming later worked with Baker on certain of the buildings.
The College has two chapels, a main one and a crypt chapel. Construction began in 1915 on the Crypt Chapel designed by Frank Fleming as a foundation for the main chapel. The Crypt Chapel seats about 100 pupils, and is adjacent to the Garden of Remembrance. Each House of the College has a week in which it is to attend the chapel service in the crypt.
Above the Crypt Chapel is the War Memorial Chapel. The superstructure was completed in 1925 and dedicated in 1926 to commemorate staff and pupils who fell in battle. Inside the War Memorial Chapel is the Delville Wood (All Souls) Memorial Chapel, which houses one of only five Delville Wood crosses in the world. It seats about 500 pupils, including staff, and has a fully functioning pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
and a choir gallery at the rear of the chapel above the main entrance. Its pipe organ is the largest of its kind in South Africa.
The War Memorial Chapel has an "M" engraved into one of its outside walls. This bears a great significance to the political and educational front in South Africa as it records Lord Milner's concession that his policy was wrong and that private schools had a place in society.
The Community of the Resurrection handed over their charge to the Diocese of Johannesburg in 1934, and in 1935 Rev S.H. ‘Nobby’ Clarke begins his 20 years as Headmaster.
In 1955 Deane Yates
Deane Yates
Deane Yates is a British teacher who pioneered non-racial-based education in Africa. He was born in the United Kingdom in 1922. After serving in the Second World War, he read Latin and Greek at Oxford University. He taught at Mill Hill in London and, at that time, still thought that he might become...
became the first lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
headmaster. By then there were 664 boys, 375 in the College, 100 boarders in the Prep.
Today there are five stages to a St John's education:
- The Bridge Nursery School was established in collaboration with Roedean School, in spacious grounds adjacent to both schools, This offers two classes for the three to five years old.
- The Pre-Preparatory School is for boys who start Pre-Grade (Grade 0) at the beginning of the year in which they turn six.
- The Preparatory School is for boys typically until the age of 12.
- The College for boys, where the main point of entry is at Remove (Standard 6, now Grade 8) typically at the age of 12 (although a few vacancies do become available at other levels from time to time) and boys typically leave at the age of 18. There is an entrance test, and the applicant's interests and cultural activities, sporting achievements and general demeanour are taken into consideration. A confidential report from the pupil's preparatory school HEadmaster/ mistress is requested. Special consideration is given to siblings, sons of Old Johannians, sons of Clergy and those who come from a disadvantaged background
- The VIth Form for both boys and girls offers a Sixth Form year to enable students to focus on three subjects of his/her choice in preparation for Cambridge A-level exams (written in November). The class numbers average between 60 and 90 boys and girls a year.
Academics
| IEB Results | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of candidates | 120 | 124 | 127 | |||
| Number of failures | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| University endorsement (%) | 97 | 97 | 95 | 92 | 98 | 94 |
| A aggregates (%) | 27 | 35 | 33 | 30 | ||
| A-B-C aggregates (%) | ||||||
| Subject distinctions | 158 | 247 | 220 | 220 | ||
| Number in top 50 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Uniform and awards
Number 1sThe "Number 1s" uniform consists of charcoal trousers, a collared long-sleeve white shirt, tie in the school colours (navy and burgandy stripes), black standard-issue school shoes, black socks and a navy blue blazer. It may be supplemented by a charcoal v-necked jersey. It is required dress for formal events and is the official winter uniform.
Number 2s
"Number 2s" or "khaki's" consist of khaki shorts and a collared khaki shirt. Black standard-issue closed shoes may be worn with long khaki socks, or closed toe sandals. For formal occasions the school blazer must be worn. "Number 2s" are the summer uniform as an alternative to the "Number 1s" and are to help pupils cope with the extremely warm South African summer.
Scrolls (or half-colours)
These are only awarded to pupils with a minor sporting, cultural or academic achievement and are woven onto the school blazer, right underneath the school badge.
Colour blazers
These are awarded to scholars with major sporting, cultural, or academic achievement. It differs from normal blazers, because it is maroon with tiny navy stripes, with a golden eagle (the school's emblem) on the front breastpocket. Underneath the brestpocket, the type of achievement is woven on.
Honours blazers
These are awarded to pupils with any excellent sporting, cultural or academic achievement. It consists of tiny maroon and navy stripes, packed closely together. It also has a golden eagle stitched on the front breastpocket, with the achievement stitched underneath it.
Traditions
- War-cry - the school has an elaborate war-cry system, some of which date back to the verb birth of the school. The war-cries are sung at the weekly Rugby fixtures, and accompany elaborate drum lines and movements. St John's has become known for its SJC warcry, in which the letters of SJC or the words of the school motto (Lux Vita Caritas) are spelt out by raising and lowering the blazers to reveal the white shirt underneath. This is just one of many war-cries, and one war cry practice a year, before the Derby match between local Houghton rivals K.E.S (King Edward VII School), the war-cry practice is moved up to the gate closest to their traditional rivals. The school then faces the School and the war-cries begin. It is a form of amicable intimidation, much like the Hakka of the All Blacks Rugby team.
- Fagging - a modernised and controlled form of fagging is still in place. Examples of this are the fact that Juniors address seniors (Matrics) as "Sir". A remove may be commandeered to carry bags, acquire food from the tuck-shop,tie shoe laces or run various errands. The only form of acceptable punishments are "pages" (literally pages of writing on a Topic of the Matric's choice), an Eagle (A form of physical exercise involving the running up and down of the amphitheatre) or push-ups on the spot. A particularly unpleasant form of punishment in Winter is the "pond" punishment, where those found in contravention to any school rules are made to place their hands in one of the many ponds on campus. This is most detested due to the icy nature of Highveld winter mornings.
- Various corridors cannot be walked through at certain times, silence is required at all times in the Passageway between the Memorial Chapel and Darragh hall (Dining Hall). There is a Matric Lawn, a matric only privilege.
- New Boys Test - a test on entry to the school, of the schools history and traditions is required for all new boys in any age group. The pass mark for this test is set at 80%.
- Hard Labour - a form of punishment which takes place on Friday Nights (Prefects), or on Saturday Afternoons (House-master's)where students are required to either do some form of manual labour or physical training (PT).
- Afkak - a more rigorous form of hard-labour (for boarders) which takes place in the early hours of the morning.
- Weekly Formal Assembly which takes place in the open-air amphitheatre (the foundations stone of which was laid by Prime Minister Jan Smuts). Bashers a(traditional straw-boat hat) are required for Matrics.
- Jocular Thursday - No longer exists, although may be reintroduced in the future.
Notable alumni
- John Edmund Kerrich (1903-1985), Professor of Mathematical Statistics at Witwatersrand University
- Owen Nkumane - first St. Johns pupil to play rugby for the national side (Springboks)
- Ian PlayerIan PlayerDr. Ian Player DMS , is an international conservationist.-Biography:Player was educated at St. John’s College, Johannesburg, South Africa and served in the 6th South African Armoured Division attached to the American 5th Army in Italy 1944–46.His conservation career started with the Natal Parks...
, international conservationist - Oswald Austin ReidOswald Austin ReidOswald Austin Reid VC was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
- Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
recipient http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13159792 (1893-1920) - Eric RosenthalEric Rosenthal (historian and author)Eric Rosenthal, was a South African historian and author. He was born in Newlands, Cape Town. He graduated with a law degree, later becoming a journalist and writer of many corporate histories...
, historian and author - Jeffrey Gillespie, American art dealer
- Tony TraharTony TraharTony Trahar is a South African businessman and former chairman of Anglo American.Trahar was educated at St John's College and the University of the Witwatersrand, after which he qualified as a chartered accountant....
, CEO of Anglo AmericanAnglo American (mining)Anglo American plc is a global mining company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and metallurgical and thermal coal and the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output...
2000-2007 - Clive RiceClive RiceClive Edward Butler Rice is a former South African international cricketer. An all-rounder, Rice ended his first class cricket career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49....
, RSA cricket - Sir Alistair Morton, Chief Executive of EurotunnelEurotunnelGroupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
and Chairman of the Strategic Rail AuthorityStrategic Rail AuthorityIn existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry.... - Tshilidzi MarwalaTshilidzi MarwalaTshilidzi Marwala born 28 July 1971 in Venda, Limpopo South Africa is a Dean of Engineering at the University of Johannesburg.-Academic career:...
- academic and businessman - Jack PhippsJack PhippsJohn Richard Noel Phipps C.B.E. was a British arts administrator.-Origins and education:...
(1925-2010), British arts administrator - Bruce Mitchell - RSA cricket
- Siyabulela Xuza - in matric created a cheaper, greener rocket fuel. Got a Scholarship to Harvard, is working with NASA and has a minor planet named after him
- Andy Peterson - youngest South African Author to be published
- Khathu Ramambulana - Prince Of Venda
- Spoek Mathambo - Musician
- Devon Conway - Sunfoil Dolphins Cricket Franchise (Natal)
- Demitri Catrakilis - Western Province provincial rugby team
- Gareth Milasinovich - Valke Currie Cup Rugby team
Memberships
- Independent Schools Association of Southern AfricaIndependent Schools Association of Southern AfricaThe Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa is the largest association of independent schools in Southern Africa.-History:...
- Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ConferenceHeadmasters' and Headmistresses' ConferenceThe Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference is an association of the headmasters or headmistressess of 243 leading day and boarding independent schools in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and the Republic of Ireland...
- International Boys' Schools Coalition