St Ursula’s get their 120th birthday off to an athletic start

St Ursula’s School is celebrating its 120-year milestone and they plan many activities throughout 2024.

Born in 1904, St Ursula’s School existed before many historical events. To get the party started, the school held a senior, primary, and pre-primary school birthday celebration as well as a swimming and sports day all on February 9. Thereafter, they plan to host an open day on April 13, followed by the opening of St Ursula’s School Museum that same day and a past learners celebration, also on April 13.

The News visited St Ursula’s School on February 9 during the school’s interhouse athletics gala where the high school used its new athletics facilities for the very first time.

According to school marketer Cynthia Granger, the aim was to enhance the building of team spirit of all the learners, teachers, and staff of St Ursula’s School.

“What stood out was the eager participation of everyone, young and old, alike promoting the spirit of Insieme [togetherness],” she said.

Result-wise, St Ursula’s was proud to announce numerous top performers namely Grade 10 learner Neo Sithole who threw 8.41 metres in the shot put event; Kgloaganyo Maupa’s (Grade 10) 9.05 meters in the shot put event; Michael Mzimela’s (Grade 12) 8.12 meters in the shot put event; Mpho Mabuza’s (Grade 10) 5.60 metres in the long jump and 9.58 meters in the shot put event, Kwena Seletela’s 5.06 meters in the long jump event for boys U18.

Furthermore, the U17 boys were the most impressive talent of the day.

Looking at their vibrant history, St Ursula’s High School history teacher Jaco Mattheyse wrote the following:

“The school and its buildings can be traced back to the old Transvaal Republic with its dust-trodden tracks and open veld teeming with wild animals and small tin towns dotting the rand. The year was 1895 when the first group of six Ursuline sisters under the leadership of Mother Alfonse Schwab, left the Dutch town of Sittard on November 27 to start an Ursuline Catholic school in the new mining boom town of Barberton in the low veld of the Transvaal. They were accompanied by Father Schock who helped them to build the first Ursuline house and school in town. They then arrived in Lorenzo Marques [Maputo] by ship on December 31, 1895, and it took them another week to reach Barberton. Their luggage, which consisted of some wicker trunks filled with their possessions, only arrived six weeks later by ox wagon.

“The school flourished in Barberton with many of the mainly English residents attending. But the culmination of a devastating storm destroying the Ursuline house and the death of Father Schock in late 1898 made it impossible for the sisters to stay in Barberton. The sisters decided to move to the new golden city of Johannesburg to start a much-needed English school and arrived in Braamfontein in September 1899 just less than three weeks before the outbreak of hostilities between the Transvaal Republic and the British Empire that would become known as the Second Anglo Boer War. The sisters were advised to return to Europe as soon as possible and the British Government offered to pay for their passage. Three of the sisters decided to stay and became nurses during the war.

“Mother Alfonse returned with a second group of nuns, also from Sittard, as soon as peace returned in 1902 when they reopened the school in Braamfontein which grew rapidly. As soon as the second group arrived, the parish priest of a small town about three hours ride from Johannesburg, called Krugersdorp, requested the sisters to open an Ursuline Boarding school in his parish. The town already boasted an English School, Town School, founded in 1902, but he thought that the catholic ethos was much needed in educating young ladies.

“The sisters agreed to his request and under the leadership of Mother Mary Overbeck, purchased part of a farm consisting of 13 acres of land in Krugersdorp North for £7 500 in 1903. That is about R15 000 in today’s currency. The new property consisted of an old double-story farmhouse and its outbuilding including a large stable block (which still survives today as the swimming pool changing rooms) standing alone in the open uncultivated veld.

“The school opened on February 9, 1904 with five boarders and 12 day scholars. It thrived and at the end of 1904, there was the first record of an item concert with help from the learners. This was followed in 1905 by a full-scale programme presented to the public.

“The school celebrated its 100th birthday in 2004 with great festivities and accepted boys into the high school for the first time in 2013 and saw them matriculate in 2017.

“It becomes impossible not to see the work of our Lord in the way He has kept us safe and growing over the past 120 years. To become one of the oldest educational institutions on the West Rand while still growing, changing, and expanding to this very day. We honour the school when we remember one of the old-school songs.”

Brick by brick the new school rose,
Majestic, tall, and of friendly pose,
With long straight corridors and spacious hall
And a lofty chapel overall.
There stands the school!
Who knows St Ursula’s School?
Cry it over Africa, back comes the call
From teachers, typists, mothers, wives, nuns and nurses
Old Girls all!