Kingsway High School is a

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

n English-medium,

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

high 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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

situated 2 km north of the

Amanzimtoti Amanzimtoti is a coastal town just south of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is well known for its warm climate and numerous beaches, and is a popular tourist destination, particularly with surfers. The annual sardine run attracts m ...

business centre and less than a kilometre from the shores of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. It is designed to cater for up to a thousand learners. The school has State Status, enabling all parents to be involved in the Governing Body and its committees.

History

The school was named in honour of

Dick King Richard Philip King (1811–1871) was an English trader and colonist at Port Natal, a British trading station in the region now known as KwaZulu-Natal. He is best known for a historic horseback ride in 1842, where he completed a journey of i ...

and his epic ride along the coast. Mention is made of this in the school song. The original Kingsway High School buildings were in Dartnell Crescent, south of the Amanzimtoti River. Built on a hill, the school commanded a fine view along the coast towards

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, and was regarded as a showpiece. The building was completed in early 1953. The first learners, formerly at Warner Beach High School, which was then closed down, commenced their studies in the brand new school at the beginning of the second term of 1953. D G Truscott was the first Headmaster. In 1971 a new school was built north of the river, on drained swampland alongside the Pahla railway halt. The building was designed by Lola Shepherd, the first woman in South Africa to qualify as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. She previously designed the new building for her own old school (Mitchell High School, Durban, opened 1902 - transferred to the Shepherd buildings 10 September 1954, but then closed in 1990). The Pahla site was originally meant to house boys, while the original Kingsway was to be a girls' high school. However, before this could be implemented, a decision was taken to make the original school a Junior High School and the new school Kingsway Senior High School, and both remained

. The institution thus split at the beginning of 1972, with A. E. Larkin intended as the Principal of Kingsway Junior High, standards 6 and 7, and P Bazley (who died before he could take up the post and was replaced by Larkin) as first principal of Kingsway Senior High School, standards 8,9 and 10. The building has since expanded with the additions of a fourth wing and a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

. The library inherited the junior school's stock, and the first librarian (Frances M. Roberts), aided by her student assistants, set about raising funds for new multimedia by showing children films in the Assembly Hall on Saturday mornings, and running a tuck shop. For the Official Opening day, a natural history exhibition created by the students was displayed in the Library using exhibits loaned from the Durban Museum by Dr.

Phillip Clancey Phillip Alexander Clancey (26 September 1917 – 18 July 2001) was a leading authority on the ornithology of South Africa. Background and education Phillip Clancey was born, brought up and educated in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied at the Gl ...

. The library boasted one of the country's few

Quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...

sound systems, and its first Quadraphonic recording was the Columbia production of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

's music commission for the September 8, 1971 opening of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, Mass. The first landscaping by the school was the purchase of a sapling - as Vepris lanceolata (supposedly a White Ironwood) - by Mrs Roberts, and planted in the Library courtyard in 1974 by former student Guy H. Best. As a potential pretender to the title, this tree was christened "Anastasia", after

Anna Anderson Anna Anderson (born Franziska Schanzkowska, 16 December 1896 – 12 February 1984) was an impostor who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, Nicholas II an ...

. In 2017 S du Toit was appointed as the new principal for Kingsway High School.

School symbols

The school badge is a white shield divided into four by a green cross representing our green heritage. In each quadrant is a red motif. The first is the Lamp of Knowledge and Sacrifice. In the second quadrant are three stars representing the three C's - Character, Citizenship and Courtesy. The third motif is the Fleur de Lys, a symbol of service to others. It embodies the school motto, ''Ut Prosim''. The final symbol is the Anchor, depicting security and steadfastness of purpose.

Student life

Although the School Cadet's training never transferred to the new site, the strong sports tradition survived and continues. The first student performances on the well-equipped stage were the musicals

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play '' Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a score with some of Romberg's most enduri ...

and

The White Horse Inn ''The White Horse Inn'' (or ''White Horse Inn'') (German title: ''Im weißen Rößl'' ) is an operetta or musical comedy by Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz in collaboration with a number of other composers and writers, set in the picturesque Salz ...

. The first play was

The Barretts of Wimpole Street ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' is a 1930 play by the Dutch/English dramatist Rudolf Besier, based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett, and her father's unwillingness to allow them to marry. The play gave actress Ka ...

. This creative tradition was still going strong with the school's Spring 2015 production of

Footloose Footloose may refer to: * ''Footloose'' (1984 film), a musical film ** ''Footloose'' (1984 soundtrack) ** "Footloose" (song), performed by Kenny Loggins * ''Footloose'' (2011 film), a remake of the 1984 film ** ''Footloose'' (2011 soundtrack) ...

Notable alumni

* Deshnie Govender - South African DJ * Khaya Mthethwa -

Idols South Africa ''Idols'' is a television show on the South African television network Mzansi Magic, and previously on M-Net, based on the popular British show ''Pop Idol''. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in South Africa. The general ...

winner & gospel music artist and producer * Clyde Rathbone -

Australian national rugby union team The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the ...

player

References

External links

Kingsway Website
{{coord missing, South Africa 1953 establishments in South Africa High schools in South Africa Schools in KwaZulu-Natal