Clarendon High
School for Girls aims to provide a holistic education which will
equip young women for the future and its challenges, enabling them to lead
rewarding and responsible lives. Their Mission
is simple – "Educating The Women of Tomorrow- Today"
Clarendon
has a proud tradition of excellence and service, where young women are equipped
to face the challenges of the future. The school aims to empower its pupils to
become independent thinkers and leaders, by learning to retain their
individuality while understanding and appreciating the dynamics of team work.
The school,
along with its sister schools Clarendon Prep and Primary and brother schools
Selborne Primary and College, evolved out of one small co-educational school
established over a hundred years ago in 1872.
It was only in
1957 that the school was re-named Clarendon
High School for Girls’ in
memory of the Countess of Clarendon who had opened the present buildings in the
1930’s. Each year the school celebrates its heritage at a traditional Founders’
Day service when groups of proud old girls return to remember their happy days
at the school.
Clarendon High offers a wide range of sports catering for all ability and interest groups. All girls are encouraged to participate in one summer and one winter sport in order to appreciate the self-fulfillment and camaraderie which results from participation in team sport.
Clarendon
sportswomen compete at the highest level and in 2004/5 fourteen current and
past pupils represented South
Africa in hockey, water polo and netball.
Clarendon
has produced stars such as Joan Harrison, who won a Gold Medal in the 100m
backstroke at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, and more recently, SPAR National
women’s hockey player, Taryn Hosking, and squash star, Siyoli Lusaseni.
gsport spoke to Clarendon’s Head of
Marketing and Communications, Sue Morrell Stewart, about her school’s approach
to girls’ sport.
Sue, what is the state of sport at Clarendon and how
has it developed over the years?
Twenty years
ago squash and tennis were our strongest sports and squash won National School’s Championships 4 years in a row.
Hockey and Netball have always been popular.
Water polo
was introduced by Lyn Webb in 1994 and rowing was introduced in 1997 by Margie
Labuschagne and these team sports seem to have become more popular than the
individual summer sports.
Tennis has
once again become extremely strong at Clarendon. Recently sports such as
aerobics, power walking, intermediate swimming and running have been introduced
to encourage mass participation. Hockey received a huge boost in 2001 with the
opening of the Selborne/Clarendon artificial surface.
Clarendon
was the 1st school in East London
and one of the 1st in the country to employ a full time sports
administrator in 1999.
Why is it important to promote sport among girls at
Clarendon?
Sport is
vital during their "Ophelia years" when they are very self conscious and
developing emotionally.
Sports
encourage healthy competition, interaction with peers, team building, fitness,
health and goal-setting; as well as laying the foundation for healthy fitness
patterns for life.
It also
helps new girls to integrate into the school and develop pride in their school,
while allowing skills development and for girls to reach their full potential.
What are Clarendon’s biggest sporting highlights?
The Eunice
Train trip is our Sporting Highlight of the year, when 300 girls participate in
a Derby Day against Eunice, Bloemfontein
in all winter sports.
In the
2004/5 season Clarendon had 14 SA representatives (from u 16 to Women’s level)
Squash: Winning National School’s
Champs 4 years running (1987 – 1990)
Water polo: Winning
the National All Girl’s Schools Aquatics Festival 8 years running (2000 – 2008)
Tennis: 2nd at St Mary’s Tennis Tournament
(2007)
Swimming: Bryson
Shield: Clarendon has won it 5 years in a row
Rowing: Won
the Suntrails Points Trophy at the Buffalo
Regatta in 2007 and the Clarendon Centenary Shield at the Selborne Regatta
(2003, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Water polo –
won the St Peter’s Water polo Tournament in 2006
What are the challenges facing school sport in SA:
- Administration
(Provincial Structures in disarray), - No
teachers prepared to be managers/coaches of provincial sides - Teachers
not qualified or prepared to coach sport - Cost
of hiring professional coaches - Cost
of tournaments - Upkeep
of facilities - Lack
of parental support from some parents, while others are too interfering - Quota
systems in some sports - Mainly
Model C schools offer sport when all schools should be offering sport - Summer
and winter seasons overlap and this puts a lot of stress on the girls
How do we overcome this?
MONEY MONEY
AND MORE MONEY
Encourage
community development of sport
Teacher
training in sport
Government
should insist that all schools offer after school sport
What are the most popular sports at Clarendon?
(Very
difficult to answer) At present, number-wise, hockey has the most participants.
Hockey at Clarendon is extremely strong and enjoys school support as well as
good parental support. Netball is also very popular and enjoys fantastic
spectator support.
In summer,
rowing and waterpolo are popular and enjoy good support fro girls and parents
Tell us about Clarendon’s sports facilities.
Clarendon High sporting facilities include three hockey fields, three netball courts, nine tennis courts and two squash courts; along with our co-owned hockey "Astroturf" across the road at Selborne College.
The swimming pool is a useful facility for swimming and water polo training, while the Joan Harrison Swimming complex is used for major galas, training and water polo matches. Joan Harrison, Clarendon past-pupil, won a Gold Medal at the Helsinki Olympics. The Buffalo River provides an attractive venue for rowing training and regattas.
Who are some of the national sports stars thatClarendon has produced?
Joan Harrison – Olympic Swimmer and gold medalist (1952)
Taryn Hosking – Women’s hockey
Marcelle Keet – Women’s hockey and waterpolo
Simnikiwe Malusi – Netball
Siyoli Lusaseni – Squash
Lee-Anne Keet – Waterpolo
Charne Ghering – Swimming
Fikile Moeti – Waterpolo
Candice Forword – Hockey
Dolly Ndevu – Hockey
Danielle Forword – Hockey
Zina Pepler – Waterpolo
Jaclyn Allardice – Waterpolo
Samantha Keet – Waterpolo
Pippa Beaumont – Waterpolo
Cari-Lee Haakonsen – Waterpolo
Kate Weakley – Waterpolo
Carly Williams – Junior Synchronised Swimming
Robyn Sinclair – Junior Horse-riding
Natasha Warren-Stone – Senior Swimming
Julie Radue – Senior Swimming
Lara Shuttleworth – Senior Swimming
Kerry Pfiffner – Senior Swimming
Katheryn Allderman – Senior Swimming
Terianne Brown – Senior Swimming
Michaela Meyer – Junior Life Saving
Samantha Murray – Junior Life Saving
Alex Sanan – u16 Tennis
Sarah Ive – u16 Tennis
Eden Smith – u14 Biathle
What are some of the events hosted by Clarendon?
1990 and
1991 – Top Schools Squash
National All
girls Winter and Aquatics Festivals (2003, 2009)
Centenary Water
polo Tournament
What is your advice to parents?
Encourage
your daughter to participate in a sport or activity they enjoy, even if they
are not going to be in the "A" team.
Encourage
your daughter to start selecting one summer and a winter sport they would like
to focus on from Grade 10 onwards as its too time consuming to do too many
sports.
What is the Vision for Clarendon Sport 2008?
The
Clarendon Sports Motto is "Win without
boasting, Lose without excuse".
At Clarendon
we promote wide participation and enjoyment of sport, fair play within the
rules of the game and team spirit. We also motivate and encourage our top
sports women to strive for provincial selection and national colours.
Contacts
Clarendon High School
Union Avenue, Selborne, East London, 5201
Tel: (043) 722 4887
Fax: (043) 722 5308
E-mail: [email protected]
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