Rustenburg School for Girls
Rustenburg Girls' High School and Rustenburg Girls' Junior School are two separate public schools with a shared history, originating in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town, South Africa. Rustenburg was founded in 1894 and divided into separate junior and high schools in 1932.
| Rustenburg Schools for Girls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
44 Campground Road, Rosebank (High). Main Road, Rondebosch (junior) , South Africa | |
| Information | |
| School type | All-girls governor Body school/semi private |
| Motto | palmam qui meruit ferat |
| Established | 1894 |
| Sister school | Rondebosch Boys High School |
| School district | District 9 |
| School number | 021 686 4066 |
| Headmaster | B. Peterson (junior) M. Gates (high) |
| Grades | R–12 |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 5 to 18 |
| Number of students | 350 (junior) 863 (high school) |
| Language | English |
| Schedule | 08:00–15:00 |
| Campus | Urban Campus |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Colour(s) | Blue & navy |
| Rivals | |
| Accreditation | Western Cape Education Department |
| Houses | High School:Lacerta, Corvus, Cygnus, Pavo, Lepus. Junior School:Wiener,Cambridge,Innes and Michael |
| 2022 Fees (high) | R53,000 – R59,000 pa (tuition) R62,939 pa (boarding) |
| 2022 Fees (junior) | R42,645 pa |
| Website | rustenburggirls |
History
The school was founded in 1894 in the historic Rustenburg House, which dates from the early years of the Dutch settlement at the Cape [1] In 1932, the school was divided into two schools, and the high school moved into its new buildings on Erinville Estate and Charlie's Hope in the suburb of Rosebank, while the junior school remained in Rustenburg House on Main Road, Rondebosch. Charlie's Hope was subsequently demolished in 1976, before being rebuilt closer to the school. Erinville is now the name of the High School's boarding house. Rustenburg House was declared a National Monument in 1941.
Headmistresses of the Combined School:
- Miss Alicia Bleby, 1894–1911
- Miss Jean Donaldson-Wright, 1912–1916
- Miss Caroline Kemp, 1916–1933
Principals of the High School:
- Miss Caroline Kemp, 1933–1936
- Miss Gwen Hazell, 1937–1951
- Miss Margaret Thomson, 1952–1979
- Mrs Josephine McIntyre, 1980–1991
- Mrs Mary van Blerk, 1991–1999
- Dr Elizabeth Fullard, 1999–2006
- Mrs Susan Schnetler (Acting), 2006-2007
- Ms Laura Bekker, 2007–2015
- Mrs Susan Schnetler (Acting), 2016
- Mr Michael Gates, 2017–present
Headmistresses of the Junior School:
- Miss Marion Roper, 1933–1944
- Miss Zoë Orton, 1945–1967
- Mrs Ruth Jones, 1968–1977
- Miss Hazel Lentin, 1978–1998
- Mrs Joyce Conway, 1998–2007
- Mrs Di Berry, 2008–2018
- Mrs Belinda Petersen, 2019–present
Academics
In 2010, Rustenberg Girls' High School was placed third in a list of the top schools in the Western Cape[2] after placing sixth in 2009.[3]
A 2013 survey by Fairlady magazine listed Rustenburg Girls' High School among the top 25 schools in the country.[4]
In 2014, Rustenburg Girls' High School again qualified for inclusion in the official top 20 schools list and was placed sixth.[5]
In 2015, the Western Cape Education Department stopped ranking the top schools in order of their performance and instead listed them alphabetically. In this year, Rustenburg Girls' High School was included in the list of the top 22 schools.[6]
In 2019, a Grade 7 student at Rustenberg Girls' Junior School came first in the Western Cape at the Horizon Maths Competition.[7]
In 2023, a matriculant from Rustenberg Girls' High School was honoured as the country's top candidate overall as well as in Maths.[8]
| Grade 12 NSC Results | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of candidates | 127 | 130? | 142 | 152 | 161 | 154 | 136 | 143 | 151 | 152 | 149 | 171 | 143 | 166 | 163 | 154 | 165 |
| Pass Rate (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 98.8 | 100 | 100 |
| Matriculation Exemption/ Bachelors Pass | 98.4% | 97% | 99% | 97% | 97.5% | 98% | 99.3% | 97.9% | 98.7% | 99.3% | 99.3% | 99.4% | 99.3% | 100% | 97.5% | 98.7% | 98.2% |
| Subject A's | - | 262 | 324 | 313 | 373 | 458 | 467 | 430 | 508 | 607 | 581 | 631 | 510 | 614 | 558 | 611 | 647 |
| Top aggregate | - | 106.1% | 92.3% | 90.8% | 90.8% | 94% | 93% | 96% | 96.7% | 96.2% | 97.5% | 96% | 97.8% | 96.0% | 95.8% | 96.5% | 97.8% |
Sport
Rustenburg has historically been well represented in South African and Western Province teams. In 2012, two girls represented South Africa in tennis and artistic gymnastics, while two staff members represented South Africa in sevens rugby and triathlon.[9]
The high school has nine tennis/netball courts, a swimming pool and two hockey/cricket fields. An astroturf playing field was installed during 2014 with floodlights added in 2016
The following sports are offered by Rustenburg Girls' High School: cricket, cross-country, hockey, indoor hockey, netball, running, football, squash, swimming, tennis, touch rugby, waterpolo [10]
Music
The highly acclaimed High School Music Department features an Orchestra, Choir, Chamber Choir, Jazz Band, Wind Band, String Quartet, Vocal Quartet, String Ensemble and Savuyisa (Marimba Band).[11]
Notable Old Girls
- Frances Ames, neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist[12]
- Jodi Balfour, film and television actress[13]
- Louise Carver, singer[14]
- Janette Deacon, archaeologist
- Mabel Malherbe, South African politician[15][16]
- Debora Patta, broadcast journalist and television producer[17]
- Leila Reitz, the first woman elected to South Africa's parliament
- Edith Layard Stephens, botanist[18]
- Désirée Talbot, opera singer[19]
- Marjorie van Heerden, book illustrator
- Pauline Vogelpoel MBE, late director of the Contemporary Art Society and member of the International Council of the Tate Gallery
- Elizabeth Voigt, late director of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley
In popular culture
Scenes in the films Spud 2: The Madness Continues and Spud 3: Learning to Fly were shot at the school.[20]
References
- McIntyre, Josephine (1994) White stoep on the highway
- "Western Cape Education Department". wced.wcape.gov.za. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- "Western Cape Education Department". wced.wcape.gov.za. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- "Fairlady magazine survey finds top 25 government high schools in SA | Rustenburg High School for Girls". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- "WCED: 2014 Matric Results". Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- "WCED: 2015 Matric Results". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- "Horizon Maths Competition | Western Cape Education Department". wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- "Western Cape matriculants among 'best of the best'". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- "At 61, the iron woman of SA triathlons is still a colossus". Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- "RGHS Sports". Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- "RGHS Music". Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- Bateman, Chris (January 2003). Frances Ames – Human Rights Champion. South African Medical Journal, 93 (1): 14–15. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
- "SUBJECT CHOICE Grade 10 2019" (PDF). Rustenburg Girls' High School. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- Louise Carver Archived 2 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Women Marching Into the 21st Century: Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo. HSRC Press. 2000. pp. 254–. ISBN 978-0-7969-1966-3.
- Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town, Volume 7, page 154, 1972
- "Newsletter Number 52" (PDF). RGJS. July 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
- Plug, C. (25 December 2014). "Stephens, Miss Edith Layard (botany)". S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- Désirée Talbot
- Prince, Natasha (12 July 2013). "Spud 3 brings craziness back to CT". Cape Argus. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
