Goromonzi High School is a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

located in

Goromonzi Goromonzi is a rural community in East Mashonaland, Zimbabwe, southeast of the country's capital city of Harare., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The people are principally from the Shona tribe. The village serves as a tr ...

Mashonaland East Province Mashonaland East, informally Mash East, is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 32,230 km2 and a population of approximately 1.35 million (2012). Marondera is the capital of the province. Geography Districts Mashonaland East i ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

History

Goromonzi school is located 35 kilometers from the

an capital

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, along the Harare-Mutare Road. The school was established in 1946 as the first

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for black secondary school students - expanding the role of education in what was then Southern Rhodesia, and designed to provide access to University education. Started initially as a boys school, the first girls were admitted under the Headmastership of John Hammond in 1954. Until that time, there had been suspicion amongst the people about education for women. The first intake was of only five girls but by 1959 the first Head Girl, Sarah Chavunduka, was admitted to the University of Rhodesia. The success of the school was such After Independence in 1980, the first African Headmaster was a former pupil and head boy of the school, Aeneas Chigwedere. Other notable students were Liberty Mhlanga who won a scholarship to study at Clark University in Massachusetts; Hosea Mapondera who won a Ford Foundation Grant and was then on the staff of the National Gallery; Edmund Grace and Cornelius Sanyanga excelled in their careers. Another pupil studying at the University of Rhodesia was Buzwani Mothobi who wrote a report back to the school on the first intake of African Students in 1960, sayin
"The Goromonzi colony now numbers about 20 souls out of a total black population of about 49"

Academics

Subjects offered include Mathematics, English Language & Literature, Sciences, Accounts, Practical Subjects such as Agriculture, Woodwork, Fashion and Fabrics, Home Economics, Shona, Technical Graphics, computer studies, biology, physics, chemistry.

Extracurricular activities

Social clubs: Entertainment Committee, Interact Club, Scripture Union, Toastmasters Club & Leo Club

Chess

In chess Goromonzi High lifted the Harare Schools Chess league in 2014 under the leadership of the school's legend, the first ever to play for the school in Europe, Anesu Gwezere with the help of Kudzaishe Manyanya with a

fide rating The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved c ...

of 1800 the best rating in the country for his age group. The school has also produced other talented players in the form of Panashe Munemo and Panashe Gatsi who also lifted the schools chess league in 2014 alongside the aforementioned legends. Chess is certainly their strongest point though basketball is the school's main sport which has produced many great players in the national team like Marshall Gwezere and Tinotenda Nyanhete to mention just a few.

Athletics

Goromonzi has an array of sports including with facilities for Rugby, Soccer, Netball, Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis, Table Tennis, Cricket, Athletics, swimming and other interest activities. In recent years the school has been the best in Mashonaland East. In 2010 the under 20 boys basketball team made it to the nationals but fell short to Churchill High School.

Notable alumni

Tendai Biti Tendai Laxton Biti (born 6 August 1966) is a Zimbabwean politician who served as Finance Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He is the current Member of Parliament for Harare East Constituency and the second Vice President of Citizens Coa ...

, Zimbabwean

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Aeneas Chigwedere Aeneas Soko Chigwedere () (25 November 1939 – 22 January 2021) was a Zimbabwean politician, historian, educationist, and traditional leader. He served as the Minister of Education, Sports, & Culture since August 2001, and was appointed the Re ...

, educator, historian, and politician * Tizirai Gwata, physician and politician; first black

mayor of Harare This is a list of mayors of Harare (previously Salisbury until 1982). Emmanual Chiroto was deputy mayor throughout He never became mayor. Bernard Manyenyeni Mayor of Harare 2013 to 2018 Sekesai Makwavara was acting mayor then chairman of a com ...

* Sarah Kachingwe, activist and politician *

Christopher Kuruneri Christopher Tichaona Kuruneri (4 April 1949 – 28 May 2022) was a Zimbabwean businessman, politician, lawyer, farmer and philanthropist. He was a Minister of Finance, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Development and member of parliament f ...

, businessman, lawyer, and politician * Simon Mazorodze, physician and politician * David Phiri, businessman * Dr Beth Chitekwe-Biti, Planner and urban development activist. Current Managing Director of Slum Dwellers International * Admire Taguma Musingarabwi, politician, philanthropist * Tm

References

External links

* Co-educational schools in Zimbabwe Boarding schools in Zimbabwe High schools in Zimbabwe Buildings and structures in Mashonaland East Province Education in Mashonaland East Province Educational institutions established in 1946 1946 establishments in Southern Rhodesia {{zimbabwe-school-stub