Feature Articles

School Sports Focus: St Peter’s College

It’s often said that if South Africa is to produce quality
sportsmen and women, the hard yards must be put in at junior level,
when children are still at school. There is an increased awareness
around the country of the importance of reviving school sport and
promoting mass participation.

Barbara Creecy, Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture, and Recreation,
in her Budget speech for 2007/2008, said: "It is almost universally
true that strong sports performance starts from a very young age, and
if we are to truly become the "Home of Champions" we must continue to
ensure that sports of all kinds are offered at schools throughout the
province."

This month, gsport launches a new feature called School Sports Focus
where we profile a leading school which promotes sport among young girl
learners. We hope this monthly feature assists parents and learners
alike in identifying schools that support the promotion of sport among
girls.

This month, we introduce you to St Peter’s College, a co-educational
school, which was established 10 years ago. What has impressed gsport
most about this school is its positive attitude towards women’s sport
and its efforts in ensuring that both girls and boys are given equal
sporting opportunities.

Rui Morais, deputy headmaster at St Peter’s College, told gsport:
"If we want to live by the ideals which the people of this country
fought so hard to achieve, we need to start at schools to educate the
youth of this country, our future leaders that women also have a very
important role to play in our society."

In this detailed interview, Rui spells out his school’s approach to
girls’ sport, touches on some of the challenges that face schools sport
in South Africa, and gives parents advice on how to approach their
children’s passion for sport.

Rui, please give a little background into the establishment and development of a girls’ school within St Peter’s College.

St Peter’s Preparatory School has been in existence for almost 6
decades. The parents of the boy’s preparatory were concerned that their
boys did not have a College to go to when going into Grade 8, therefore
they decided to establish a College.

Land was bought from Eskom next to Megawatt Park, and St Peter’s
College was established 10 years ago. The establishment of the College
represented a shift in the tradition of the Prep which is a monastic
school, and the College was from the day it opened its doors a
co-educational school for both boys and girls. Two years ago, a girl’s
preparatory school was established on the grounds of the boy’s
preparatory school, and it currently accommodates girls from Grade 0 –
3.

What is the state of girl’s sport at St Peter’s College?

Girl’s sport at St Peter’s College is thriving. We offer the same
activities for both boys and girls, besides rugby. We thus offer the
following girl’s sports at St Peter’s College:

1. Soccer
2. Water Polo
3. Tennis
4. Netball
5. Basketball
6. Hockey
7. Swimming
8. Squash
9. Equestrian
10. Golf; and
11. Cricket.

Even though in both golf and cricket we do not compete against
girl’s teams, we have girls that compete in our teams against the other
school’s boy’s teams. We had the same scenario in the water polo, where
our girls on a number of occasions competed against the other school’s
boy’s teams. Our policy is if a girl is good enough to make a team, we
see no reason why she should not be able to compete.

The only downside is that on a few occasions some of the boy’s teams
have refused to play against a team which has a girl competing against
them in the opposing team – as on a number of occasions we have had a
number of dented and bruised egos.

Does St Peters College approach girls sport in the same way it approaches mainstream sport?

Absolutely, we do not classify any of our sports as mainstream. All
the sporting codes are given equal status at St Peter’s College. For
example, three years ago the captain of the rugby first team asked me
for permission for all the first team players to wear different
coloured scarves, which would identify them as first team players.

This request was duly granted, however, the same privilege was given
to all the sporting codes, so if you played sport at a first team
level, irrespective of the sporting code, you were permitted to wear a
red first team scarf.

Why do you find it important to promote sport among girls at school?

It is extremely important for us to promote sport amongst girls,
because we strongly believe in our country’s constitution which is the
most liberal in the world. A very strong emphasis is placed on gender
equality, but what is supposed to be applied in theory is not always
put into practice.

In South Africa, there are only three sporting codes which get vast
coverage and sponsorship, rugby, soccer and cricket, all of them male
dominated. Girl’s sport is in essence marginalized, unlike countries
such as the USA which give vast amounts of coverage to women sports
such as, soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.

If we want to live by the ideals which the people of this country
fought so hard to achieve, we need to start at schools to educate the
youth of this country, our future leaders that women also have a very
important role to play in our society.

What has been St Peters College biggest highlight when it comes to girls sport?

The biggest highlight is to witness the vast number of girls
becoming involved in the sporting life of the College. Our girls have
broken the mould whereby girls are only primarily involved in cultural
activities and the more "gentile" sports.

The enthusiasm and spirit of our girls when participating in the
myriad of activities on offer, and the enjoyment that they derive from
this involvement, has undoubtedly been our greatest success story. The
girls enjoy participating in sport, far more than their male counter
parts.

A culture of winning eventually becomes a by-product of this.

What are some of the challenges that face schools sport in South Africa?

Some of the challenges that schools face are: lack of adequate
facilities; lack of equipment; an extremely rapidly dwindling pool of
committed teachers who are willing to take on the extra responsibility
of being involved the extra-curricular programme of the school; lack of
finances; technology – most children would rather sit in front of the
TV or Play Station, instead of becoming involved in sport.

What is the most popular girls sport at your school and why?

It is difficult to judge, as there is not a single sporting code
that stands out from the rest. I would say it would have to be a toss
up between soccer, basketball, netball and aquatics, primarily due to
the number of girls involved in these activities and the enthusiasm
they show.

It is also important to emphasize that all of these activities have
extremely dedicated members of staff who drive these sporting codes,
which make them very appealing for the girls to participate in.

Tell us more about the school’s sports facilities:

Our school is extremely blessed to have some of the best sporting
facilities in South Africa. At any given time we have the following on
offer: two indoor heated swimming pools, an indoor heated water polo
pool, three cricket ovals, 10 cricket nets, five soccer fields, three
rugby fields, four hockey fields, two basketball courts, eight netball
courts, and six tennis courts.

What are some of the girls sports events your school hosts?

Events hosted by our schools with a huge focus on girls are: Old
Petrian’s Water Polo Tournament in February – The Premier girl’s
tournament in South Africa; The Junior Sports Festival in May – Girls
compete in netball and hockey; The Sports and Cultural Festival in July
where we have 2000 participants and teams coming from all over Africa
to participate. Girls compete in soccer, basketball, netball and
tennis.

What is your advice to parents keen for their children to take up sport at school?

There has been huge debate in the media in recent months regarding
the poor performance of the South African sports teams, in a variety of
disciplines.

In most cases the sole reason attributed to this rot in our sport is
the dreaded "Quota System". I have a very different perspective on
this. I believe it goes a lot deeper than the "quota systems" and the
supposed political interference by the ANC government, the rot in our
sport starts much earlier, and we can go back to our school system to
find the root cause of this purported lack of performance.

Schools are, unfortunately, being judged primarily by the results of
their rugby teams, especially by the results of the 1st XV. It is a sad
state of affairs, that this is often the sole deciding factor when
parents choose a high school for children.

Schools will often market themselves, by referring to their success
on the rugby and cricket fields, and to how many Springbok rugby
players and Protea cricket players they have produced. Should we not be
judging schools differently? Are there not a variety of facets we have
to take into account when educating children?

I would approach it differently – a school should be judged on the
caliber of pupils that have passed through its gates and not by the
handful of Springbok rugby players it has produced. Even though there
have been huge benefits to SA as a country after the Springboks won the
Web Ellis Trophy, I really do believe that this will have a negative
impact on school sport.

There will be far more emphasis placed on rugby once again, to the
detriment of other sports, especially those in which women take part
in, also, schools will pull out all the stops to ensure that their
rugby teams perform on the playing fields.

I firmly believe the poor grounding that our international sportsmen
receive comes from our school system, and the fact that school sport
has now become a "win at all costs" scenario, where our sportsmen do
not know what true sportsmanship is all about. Let it never be said
that our sports results at St Peter’s College are based on the strength
of our scholarship programme, or on whether our sports teams have been
successful because the majority players are comprised of post Matric
pupils.

The true meaning of sportsmanship is lacking in school sport.
Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will
be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness,
ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one’s competitors.

Sportsmanship typically is regarded as a component of morality in
sport, comprised of three related and perhaps overlapping concepts:
fair play, sportsmanship, and character. Fair play refers to all
participants having an equitable chance to pursue victory and relating
to others in an honest, assertive and dignified manner even when others
do not play fairly.

It includes respect for others – team members, opponents, and
officials. Character refers to dispositions, values and habits that
determine the way that a person n responds to challenges,
opportunities, failure and success.

Typically this is displayed in polite behaviour toward others;
helping an opponent up or shaking hands after a match. An individual is
believed to have "good character" when those dispositions and habits
reflect core ethical values.

Our international sportsmen no longer reflect the values of true
sportsmanship. From a young age players with talent are given demi-god
status at their respective schools and this elevation in their status
spills later in their careers.

In recent rugby test matches, especially just prior to the World
Cup, how many games have the Springboks lost due to the ill discipline
of our players? In the last Tri-Nations test against the All Blacks, we
played for 20 minutes, a 1⁄4 of the match with only 14 players, against
the best team in the world with dire consequences. This was primarily
due to the lack of discipline in the team.

It was also with a great deal of interest that I read the recently
published report, which was apparently leaked to the media, regarding
the "Alcoholgate" saga. Our cricket players were involved in all night
drinking binges just prior to important matches, which led to a number
of our players cramping at critical stages of a game.

I clearly remember the very same "drinking" issue being raised at
the previous cricket World Cup held in South Africa. Can we keep laying
the blame of poor performance on the "quota systems"?

Schools have, unfortunately, lost a measure of perspective and have
a distorted view of what school sport is really all about. The sports
field is an extension of the classroom, in that as educators, our job
is not to produce Springbok rugby players, but to prepare our pupils
for the challenges that lie ahead in a rapidly changing global
environment. The sports field is merely one facet of that education
process.

Therefore, when parents choose a school for their children,
especially when they are looking at placing their children in a school
which has achieved excellent sports results, my advice is for parents
to really do some research before making a final decision.

Questions that need to be asked are:

1. What is the school’s value system towards sport?
2. Are all sports given equal status within the school system?
3. What is the quality of the coaching available?
4. Are the teachers involved in the extra-curricular program of the school?

An extremely important measure of the quality of education can be
measured by the involvement of the teaching staff in the
extra-curricular life of the school. A school where you have a vast
amount of external coaches involved in the running of the
extra-curricular program does not have dedicated and committed
teachers. An external coach should be the exception rather than the
norm.

That is why we at St Peter’s College define winning as doing your
personal best and living up to the high standard of sportsmanship
established by your coach. It is important that, as teachers and
coaches, we instill in every pupil these values and the correct sport
etiquette.

Every time we compete we always go out to win, even though that is
not always possible. More importantly, the question we ask ourselves is
– did we perform to our full potential? Our philosophy is the education
of children as a priority, and not only to produce Springboks.

How can someone make contact with St Peters College?

Our contact details are:

(011) 807-5315 – Telephone

(011) 807-4942 – Fax

Headmaster – Mr. Graham Howarth

Deputy Headmaster – Mr. Rui Morais

Deputy Headmaster – Mr. Adam Dobson

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