Mt St Mary's Mission School 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 ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

primary and secondary school, located in the

Wedza District Wedza (or Hwedza) is a district in the province of Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe. It is located about south of Marondera, and south of Harare. The area was sparsely inhabited by the Mbire people of the Soko Clan as early inhabitants who mined iron i ...

of the

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 ...

. The school is located at the foot of Mt Rusunzwe.

History and operations

The mission was established in 1954 by Father Beckenhoff, a German

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

who worked as a missionary in Wedza and other areas in Zimbabwe. The primary school was established alongside the mission and a transition to a secondary school followed gradually. The Jesuits, and later the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

, ran the mission from its inception to 1994 before passing it on to the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Harare The Archdiocese of Harare (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Hararensis'') is the Metropolitan See for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical province of Harare in Zimbabwe. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the city of Harare, and parts of the provinces of ...

under the control of Father William Makusha and subsequently Father Regis Chikuni and Father Chiduku. The school has been one of the more competitive schools from Wedza and was the second school in the district to introduce

GCE Advanced Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

classes with the inception of management of business, accounting and geography classes in 2000. Classes have expanded to include English literature and science subjects.

Sports

Athletics, basketball, chess, football, netball and volleyball are the main sports played by the school. The school's greatest accomplishment was winning the NASH Mashonaland East football tournament in 1989 and also a gold medal in chess by Liberty Butsu in 2012. Another notable achievement was the gold medal won by Tafara Magaya in Basketball at the National Championships in 2014. He was subsequently selected to represent Zimbabwe at the zone 6 regional championships in 2015 where he was awarded another gold medal.

Primary school

The primary school, also referred to as Chikohonono after the hill in its backdrop, serves the area surrounding the mission with day-schooling services.

Notable alumni

Constantino Chiwenga Constantino Chiwenga (born Constantine Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga) (born 25 August 1956), is a Zimbabwean politician and former army general currently serving, since 2017, as the First Vice-President of Zimbabwe under President Emmerson ...

– Vice President of Zimbabwe and formerly Commander,

Zimbabwe Defence Forces The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) are composed of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ). As a landlocked country, Zimbabwe has no navy. The most senior commander of the ZDF is General Philip Valerio Sibanda. At t ...

* Stephen Mahere – Zimbabwean Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture * Shepherd Maingano – Professor, Clinical Laboratory Science at University of Hawaii * Felix Makonye – Associate Professor, College of Law & Management Studies, Westville Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal * Godwin Marufu – former school captain, HIV Researcher, Family Physician * Louis Chasakara – former Group Operations Director of Rainbow Tourism Group * Cuthbert Musarurwa – Professor University of Rwanda, College of Medicine and Health Sciences. * Lenon Itai Rwizi – Lawyer, University of Fort Hare, YALI Alumni *

Perrance Shiri Perrance Shiri (born Bigboy Samson Chikerema; 11 January 1955US Code Co ...

– commander, Air Force of Zimbabwe; member, Zimbabwean Joint Operations Command

References

1954 establishments in Southern Rhodesia Buildings and structures in Mashonaland East Province Education in Mashonaland East Province Educational institutions established in 1954 Franciscan high schools Defunct Jesuit schools Catholic elementary and primary schools in Zimbabwe Catholic secondary schools in Zimbabwe Wedza District {{Zimbabwe-school-stub

History and operations

Sports

Primary school

Notable alumni

See also

References