St Ursula’s School
St Ursula’s School celebrates its 118th Birthday
St Ursula’s School has a rich history of service in our community and still proudly accommodates learners from Grade RRR to Grade 12, in which year they complete the IEB matric examinations. St Ursula’s would like to heartily congratulate the matric class of 2021 who achieved a 100% pass rate. Another year added to a proud record of 100% pass rates at the school.
On Wednesday, 9 February 2022, St Ursula’s School will celebrate its 118th birthday, and we would like to celebrate this milestone by sharing a brief history of the school and how it came to be a part of the Krugersdorp community.
A Brief History of St Ursula’s School 1895 - 2022
The vibrant history of this beautiful 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, left the Dutch town of Sittard on 27 November 1895 to start an Ursuline Catholic School in the new mining boom town of Barberton in the lowveld of the Transvaal. They were accompanied by Father Schock, who helped them to build the first Ursuline house and school in town. They arrived in Lorenzo Marques (Maputo) by ship on 31 December 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 here in Braamfontein, in September 1899, just less than three weeks before the outbreak of 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.
A second group of nuns, also from Sittard returned as soon as peace was restored in 1902, and reopened the school in Braamfontein. As soon as this group arrived back in South Africa, the parish priest of a small town called Krugersdorp, requested that the sisters 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 thirteen acres of land in Krugersdorp North for £7 500 in 1903. That is about R156 000 in today’s currency. The 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 open uncultivated veld. The school opened on 9 February 1904 with five boarders and twelve day scholars.
Education for Excellence. Respect for the Uniqueness of the Individual. And development of Community/Family Spirit. SERVIAM – “I WILL SERVE”
Mother Mary Overbeck is one of the best-known foundresses of St Ursula’s and it is mainly thanks to her that the school survived and flourished. She is remembered as a woman of strong character wrapped in a coating of kindness and fun. Sister Gerhard established a lasting memorial to the hard work and diligence of those very first pioneering sisters when she beautified the grounds in the early days by planting pine, oak and fruit trees. Some of which can still be seen on the grounds today. When the old farmhouse became too small for the growing school, it was added onto in early 1906.
In 1910 the school buildings were again found to be inadequate for the growing numbers of learners and the first corrugated iron buildings were constructed including a chapel, dormitories and other services. The last big additions to the old farmhouse happened in 1915 when the first chapel was replaced by the second chapel built of brick and mortar. These additions can still clearly be seen, as they form part of the present preschool.
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 along with the outbreak of the Spanish Flu at the end of the war in 1918 had dire consequences for not only the town, but also for the school. The parish priest was also a casualty of the flu, along with many of the school’s pupils and parents.
By 1928, the buildings were again found to be inadequate. This time, however, it was decided to start with a completely new building on the site. The corner stone was laid on 1 April 1928 and the new school building was completed by mid-1929.
The building was designed much in the style of Sir Herbert Baker and his associates, by the firm of architects Cowin, Power and Ellis. It was built by Mr G Beckett, being two stories high and having a rather plane, long facade pierced by different windows, gables and a central tower. Over the front door a statue of St Angela, the foundress of the Ursuline Sisters, stands guard. The former emblem of the Roman Union of Ursulines with the motto “One Heart and One Spirit” can be seen.
At this time the guardian angel statue, brought out to South Africa by some sisters in 1902, was installed in the garden in front of the new building.
The school grounds were very different then to the way they are today. The building was surrounded by orchards and other trees. The building was reached by the long driveway lined with pine trees. In 1949, Bernadette Peter became the school’s first Head Girl.
A new Science-wing complete with staff accommodation and new laboratories for Science and Plant and Animal Studies were constructed in 1958 on the north side of the building. The school entered a new phase of its life in the 1960’s starting with the very important visit of Cardinal Montini, who later became Pope Paul VI in 1962. The school purchased further property across the road facing onto Dam Street, which became Premier Street in 1963, for the purpose of building a new Primary School. Building progressed rapidly, and the new Primary School opened its doors on 24 January 1966.
The school celebrated its 100th birthday in 2004 with great festivities. Boys were enrolled into the High School for the first time in 2013 and the school saw them matriculate in 2017.
The school looks forward to the future with the same confidence and enthusiasm that brought it into existence 118 years ago.
In this vein, a Past Pupil’s Reunion is going to be held at the school on Saturday 9 April 2022. So please save the date and for more information, contact Mrs J. Thatcher on 011 953 1078 or pastpupils@stursulas.co.za
