Victoria Park High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

English medium An English-medium education system is one that uses English as the primary medium of instruction—particularly where English is not the mother tongue of the students. Initially this is associated with the expansion of English from its homeland i ...

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 ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

high school situated in the suburb of

Walmer Walmer is a town in Dover District, the district of Dover, Kent, in England. Located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is south-east of Sandwich, Kent. Largely residential, its coastline and castle attract many visitors. It has a population of ...

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

province of

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 ...

. It is one of the top and most academic schools in Port Elizabeth. The school was established in 1940.

General

Approximately 1000 students attend grades 8–12 and participate in activities, sports and the cultural arts. To maintain a favourable pupil/teacher ratio, the Governing body employs approximately 20 extra teachers.

Headmasters

*H.W. Arnott(1940–1947) *T.C Thorp (1947–1965 ) *G.A.C. Pearson (1966–1982) *D. Blake (1983–1993) *P. Hollely (1993–2002) *M.J. Vermaak (2003–2021) *A. Jansen (acting principal 2021-present)

History

The school was established in January 1940, and was situated in the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

hall in South End. The first day saw an enrolment of 38 grade 9 pupils, one assistant woman teacher and H.W. Arnott, the headmaster. It was he who came up with the school's motto, "Vivite Fortes", meaning "Live courageously". Sport was played on the fields of Walmer Rugby & Cricket Clubs, and two hired tennis courts in Second Avenue. In 1941, a grade 10 was added, along with an extra teacher. When Arnott returned in 1945 after service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the school had moved to its present site at the junction of Victoria Park Drive and First Avenue Walmer, as well as having classes from grade 9 to Matric.

Clubs and societies

Cultural societies

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

Jazz band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ...

Wind Band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

Steel band The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descripti ...

Choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

* Impulse (cultural society) *

Debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...

* Quiz Team * The VIP (

School Newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...

) *

Toastmasters Toastmasters International (TI) is a US-headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of promoting communication, public speaking, and leadership. History The organization grew out of a single c ...

Photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

* Science Club * Hiking Club * Cultural Society * Art Club *

Ballroom Dancing Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

Service clubs

* Interact (Grades: 10–12) * Junioract (Grades: 8–9) * TAG (Teenage Action Group) * TADA (Teenagers Against Drug & Alcohol Abuse) * LIFE(Life is for everyone) * PAW (Protecting Animals Worldwide) * ACC (Aids Care Committee) * Blood Peer Promoters *

First Aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

* ECO (Environmental Caring Organisation) * Sound and Lighting Technicians

Self improvement

* Life (Love Is For Everyone) * VP

Leadership groups

Junior City Council A Junior City Council is a local form of government, governed by minors. United States The Strasburg Junior City Council, founded in November 2006, is composed of youth public officials elected into office. Its purpose is to give young adults ex ...

* RCL (Representative Council of Learners) * Councilors (School Prefects)

Sport

The following are sports played by both sexes at Victoria Park High School: *

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), competiti ...

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

Paddling Paddling with regard to watercraft is the act of manually propelling a boat using a paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel. The paddle is not connected to the boat (unlike in r ...

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

Hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

(girls only) *

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

(boys only)

References

External links

School WebsiteVictoria Park Presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour DreamcoatVictoria Park High School Helps Coega Door of HopeVictoria Park High School Winter Clothing Drive
{{ECSchools High schools in South Africa Schools in the Eastern Cape Educational institutions established in 1940 1940 establishments in South Africa Port Elizabeth