Helpmekaar Kollege is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Afrikaans medium co-educational high school situated in Braamfontein, in the city of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

in the

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

History

Helpmekaar was the first

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

high school in

. The school was started by a group of

Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...

who wanted their children to have an alternative to English high schools. The school was officially started in 1921 in the Irene Church opposite the Union Ground. Construction of the school started on 19 September 1925 with the foundation stone being laid by General Barry Hertzog. The land was donated by the Johannesburg City Council at Milner Park, Braamfontein. The school badge was designed by a matric pupil of 1925, A.J. Lessing. The slogan of the school "KOMAAN" was derived from a poem by Jan F. E. Celliers by the same title. Literally translated, ''Komaan Helpmekaar'' means “come on, help each other”.

Campus

The Helpmekaar Campus is situated on the corner of Empire and Melle Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg. The school building consists of five parts: *''The Old Building (with the clock tower on top)'' *''The Newer Buildings'' *''The Terraces'' *''The Far East'' *''The DI Hub'' The school also has a rugby field, uniform shop, three tennis courts, two netball practice courts, two halls, a swimming pool and a boarding house.

Curriculum

Helpmekaar follows the IEB curriculum. Pupils are also given the opportunity to write the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

, a standardized college admission test used in the United States, in Grade 11.

Extracurricular activities

The school offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities including:

Sports

* Rugby * Netball * Tennis * Hockey * Swimming * Cricket * Adventure Racing * Athletics * Cross country * Chess * Golf * Orientation * Squash * Equestrian * E-Sports * Mountain biking

Cultural

* Choir * Eisteddfod * School paper * Speech guild * Debating * Public speaking * Dancing * Orchestra * ATKV (Afrikaans Cultural Organisation) * School production

Academic

* Hip2B2 * Robotix * Afrikaans Olympiad * English Olympiad * Mathematics Olympiad * General Knowledge Olympiad

Traditions

School uniform

Helpmekaar's school

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

has a style that forms part of the school's traditions and past. The basic uniform mainly consists of a brown

blazer A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons ...

with a

khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy ...

jersey and white shirt, brown tie and khaki trousers or shorts for boys and a khaki dress for girls. Boys always wear

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s, while girls always wear bashers. Girls do not have to wear ties during summer (except matrics; see below) and in winter they are allowed to wear long khaki pants or dark tights. The school has special, striped blazers for learners who perform exceptionally well in academic, sports and cultural activities. Traditionally these blazers may only be worn by seniors (i.e. grade 10 to matric). A white blazer is the highest, most honourable blazer in the school and is given to prefects,

cheerleaders Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

and the head boy and head girl to be worn on special occasions. Matrics also have special ties that are lighter than the traditional brown school tie.

Klets, Knibbel en Kykfees

The Klets, Knibbel en Kykfees (Chat, Nibble and Watch festival), commonly known as the ''KKK fees'', gives learners the opportunity to express their creativity by participating in various cultural activities. With boat-building, debating, cupcake decorating, stand-up comedy, graffiti, poetry, rapping, idols and even paper-jet folding, it provides fun and enrichment for each Helpie involved.

Rugby spirit

Winter is rugby season and at Helpmekaar rugby is more than just a game. The whole school attends all home games to stand behind their first team and when they reach the finals everyone goes along. The first-team jerseys are brown and gold, whereas the other teams wear white. First-team players also have special scarves, hats and shorts that they can wear with their school uniform (mentioned above).

Golden Boys

The Golden Boys are the official school

mascots A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

. Dressed up in brown cloaks, rugby-shorts and golden body paint, they perform at major events such as Inter-High

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

meets, rugby games and swimming galas. Grade 10 boys are specially selected by previous Golden Boys to participate in this tradition.

Notable alumni

Mimi Coertse Mimi Coertse, DMS (born 12 June 1932) is a South African soprano. On 26 January 2020, Mimi was also inaugurated as a living legend in the South African Legends Museum. She was one of only 20 legends from whom a bust was also made. Early li ...

* Marius Kloppers *

Odile Harington Eone Odile Harington (born 1961) was an alleged South African agent. Early life Odile Harington was born in 1961 and lived in Johannesburg. At the age of 23 Harington was an agent of South African military intelligence and was sent to Zimbabwe t ...

* Gert Potgieter * Louise Prinsloo * Dan Roodt * Magdalena K.P. Smith Meyer

References

External links

{{Greater Johannesburg, edu Afrikaner culture in Johannesburg Boarding schools in South Africa Schools in Johannesburg High schools in South Africa Private schools in Gauteng