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) Cape Town , Western Cape South Africa
Information
School type	All-girls governor Body school
Motto	palmam qui meruit ferat
Established	1894; 129 years ago (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	Herschel Girls School Sans Souci Girls' High School Wynberg Girls' High School
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.org.za

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

 

Rustenburg Girls' High School

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

 

A Rustenburg tennis player at the 2006 Interschools Tennis

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

Main page: Category:Alumni of Rustenburg School for Girls

 

Sketch of Rustenburg House by Montrose Cloete

• 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]

See also

• List of primary schools in South Africa
• List of High Schools in South Africa

References

1. McIntyre, Josephine (1994) White stoep on the highway
2. "Western Cape Education Department". wced.wcape.gov.za. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
3. "Western Cape Education Department". wced.wcape.gov.za. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
4. . Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
5. . Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
6. . Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
7. "Horizon Maths Competition | Western Cape Education Department". wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
8. "Western Cape matriculants among 'best of the best'". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
9. "At 61, the iron woman of SA triathlons is still a colossus". Retrieved 31 May 2023.
10. "RGHS Sports". Retrieved 31 May 2023.
11. "RGHS Music". Retrieved 31 May 2023.
12. Bateman, Chris (January 2003). Frances Ames – Human Rights Champion. South African Medical Journal, 93 (1): 14–15. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
13. "SUBJECT CHOICE Grade 10 2019" (PDF). Rustenburg Girls' High School. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
14. Louise Carver 2 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
15. Women Marching Into the 21st Century: Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo. HSRC Press. 2000. pp. 254–. ISBN 978-0-7969-1966-3.
16. Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town, Volume 7, page 154, 1972
17. "Newsletter Number 52" (PDF). RGJS. July 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2013.^{[permanent dead link]}
18. Plug, C. (25 December 2014). "Stephens, Miss Edith Layard (botany)". S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
19. Désirée Talbot
20. Prince, Natasha (12 July 2013). "Spud 3 brings craziness back to CT". Cape Argus. Retrieved 14 June 2020.

33°57′24.08″S 18°28′43.88″E / 33.9566889°S 18.4788556°E / -33.9566889; 18.4788556