St John's College (Johannesburg, South Africa)
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| Motto | Lux Vita Caritas (Light, Life, Love) |
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| Established | 1898 |
| Type | All-Boys Private College |
| Headmaster | Roger Cameron |
| Students | 1350 |
| Grades | 8 - 12 (+ 13th year) |
| Location | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Colours | Navy blue and maroon |
| Dayboy Houses | Alston, Clarke, Clayton, Fleming, Hill, Thomson |
| Boarding Houses | Nash, Hodgson, Runge |
| Fees | R 132 210 p.a. (boarding) R 78 315 p.a. (tuition) |
| Website | www.stjohnscollege.co.za |
St John's College is a prestigious private school for boys in Houghton, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa internationally recognised as one of the top schools in the country. It is furthermore internationally renown for its waterpolo, choir, academics and debating. It has existed for 110 years, and is world-famous for its beautiful buildings, chapel, bell-tower and elaborate traditions. Furthermore, it is known for its fierce sporting rivalry against St Stithians, as well as against King Edward VII School (K.E.S). It is also a member of the Elite Seven.
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[edit] History
St John's was founded in 1898 and is an Anglican school. It has a friendly rivalry with St Stithians Collegeas well as King Edward VII School (KES).
It began at St Mary's Anglican Church, Eloff Street, Johannesburg where Rev. John Darragh is regarded as the founding father. He persuaded his parish council to open an Anglican school for boys. His curate Rev. JL Hodgson became the first Headmaster.
On 1 August 1898 opened in the porch of St Mary's with 11 boys (6-14) sons of congregation. Weeks later the school moved to a large house on 32 Plein Street. It didn't last long for it closed at the end of 1899 owing to the outbreak of war. St John's re-opened in 1902, Rev. Hodgson came back with 8 staff and 130 boys.
St John's eventually outgrew Plein Street and moved to the Union Grounds between Joubert Park and the old Wanderers (now Johannesburg’s main railway station.)
The College has two chapels, the first one is in a crypt located underneath the main chapel. It was used as a bomb shelter during the war years and seats about 100 pupils. Each house of the College has a week in which it is to attend the chapel service in the crypt. The main chapel is situated directly above the crypt and seats about 500 pupils, including staff, and has a side chapel attached. It 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 main 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 at the turn of the twentieth century. At the time Lord Milner believed that private schools were not beneficial to society and so set about creating public schools within a short distance of their private counterparts, hoping to close them down. Due to his policies, schools such as King Edward VII School near St John's were created. Milner was later to concede that his policy would never work and private schools form as much a part of society as state schools and he agreed to have the letter "M" engraved on the side of the chapel.[citation needed]
In 1955 Deane Yates became the first lay headmaster.
[edit] Academics
St John's is the top-academic boys school in South Africa, consistently outperforming other schools in the IEB ranking as well as Sending Boys to many international universities.
[edit] Uniform and Awards
- Number 1's
Number 1's are supposed to be worn during formal events and is the only uniform that can be worn during winter. It consists of long-sleeve coal trousers, a collared white shirt, tie (with navy and burgandy stripes, school shoes, black socks and a navy blue blazer, which has to be worn at all times. Punishment may be implemented if the uniform is worn sloppily or untidily.
- Number 2's
These are only permittable during summer and are basically only there to help pupils cope with the extremely warm South African dry season. Number 2's or khaki's include: long socks, black standard-issue school shoes, khaki shorts, a collared khaki shirt and a blazer, which has to be worn at all times
- Scrolls (or half-colours)
These are only awarded to pupils with a minor sporting, cultural or academic achievement and are simply 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. These blazers are very easily identifiable. It is a great honour to receive one.
- Honours Blazers
These are awarded to pupils with any excellent sporting, cultural or academic achievement. The way it differs from any other blazer in the College, is the fact that it consists of tiny maroon and navy stripes, packed closely together. It also has a golden eagle stitched on the front breastpocket, with the type of achievement stitched underneath it.
| IEB Results | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of candidates | 120 | 124 | 127 | |||
| Number of failures | 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 |
The College has produced a number of Rhodes scholars, a recipient of the Chancellor's Award at Harvard University and in 2003, a leaver was admitted to Yale University. St John's has produced many students that have attended world famous universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and their American counterparts.
[edit] Notable Old Johannians
- 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 Player, international conservationist
- Oswald Austin Reid - Victoria Cross recipient [1] (1893-1920)
- Eric Rosenthal, historian and author
- Jeffrey Gillespie, American art dealer
- Omphile Ramela - Gauteng Cricket
- Tony Trahar, CEO of Anglo American 2000-2007
- Clive Rice, RSA Cricket
- Sir Alistair Morton, Chief Executive of Eurotunnel and Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority
- Warren Swan - Gaunteng Cricket
- Scott Speding - SA U21 Rugby
- Sir Henry Benson, accountant and president of the ICAEW
[edit] Memberships
- Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa
- Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
- International Boys' Schools Coalition
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 26°10′35″S 28°03′27″E / 26.17639°S 28.0575°E
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