PETERHOUSE
NOSTALGIA
PETERHOUSE
NOSTALGIA
HEADMASTER'S REPORT
Mr Chairman, invited Guest of Honour Mr Jeremy Gibbs, Sir Roger Gibbs, members of our governing body, parents and Peterhouse girls - welcome to Prize Giving 1996.
We are honoured on this special day with the presence of Mr Jeremy Gibbs, eldest son of the late Sir Humphrey and Dame Molly, and Sir Roger, through whose efforts a substantial sum of money was raised in England to finance the Sir Humphrey Gibbs Centre and perhaps, more important for us, The Dame Molly Court. Gentlemen, we are most privileged to have you with us today.
Privileged, too, are we to have Dr Williams, the Chairman of our Board of Governors - thank you for being with us today.
Reflections
At Prize Giving it is usual to reflect on a school's successes - the successes of individuals and teams that make up the school. This year I would like to approach things on a slightly different tack - I would like to look at our school itself.
Peterhouse Girls' is one of three schools that make up Peterhouse - it is the youngest in the group - we celebrate our I0th Anniversary in our present site in September next year.
Schools, like people and countries, go through stages of development. The initial stage is marked with great enthusiasm on the part of the parent body - it is marked with a "hands on" approach by those who have risked backing something new. Expectations aren't too high; the school is a happy place, and its very existence is sufficient to ensure its growth and development. This phase in a school lasts between 7 and 9 years.
The first thing that struck me when I started at the Girls School, in its seventh year, was that there was no trace of this "pioneering" phase - Peterhouse Girls had passed into subsequent stages of development ahead of time.
Accelerated growth
Parents considered sending girls in the light of the Peterhouse Boys' track record. I attribute this accelerated process of growth within our school to two factors.
I. Buildings existed on our site for the school. It wasn't a case of appealing to parents for bricks or even builders. But many parents did not appreciate, and some still do not appreciate, that the buildings were constructed for a Prep School for boys - most were and some still are unsuitable for senior girls. Much money has been spent on changes and improvements over the years and much still has to be done.
2. And secondly, as a sister for Peterhouse Boys, parents pay the same school fees and expect the same returns - Peterhouse Girls hasn't been a younger sister, it has been seen as a twin sister.
Thus potential parents have had very high expectations of the girls school, especially as far as buildings and the infrastructure are concerned. Some present parents, especially this year, have overlooked the fact that the school is still developing and expanding. The lack of Vth and VIth Form accommodation this year has, for me, highlighted this fact.
Academic record and its effect on accomodation
This is a convenient time for me to look at the academic record of the school in the last 12 months because it has considerable bearing on this lack of accommodation and what I have been saying about expectations.
When the Vth and VIth Form accommodation on the Williams Field was built, it was assumed that roughly half of the '0' level girls would qualify or want to return to take up post 'O' level options.
In 1994, 98% of the girls writing 'O' level passed five or more subjects. The majority qualified and opted to stay. The Vth Form overflowed into VIth Form accommodation, and girls continued to be housed in staff housing; just about every room in and around the school was utilised.
In late February of this year the '0' level results arrived. They were beyond everyone's expectations; again 98% of those who wrote passed five or more subjects (compare this with the 20% national average!). 89.5% of all subjects written were passes and eight of the nineteen subjects had a pass rate of 100%.
Our results have been fantastic for two consecutive years. The "swop and switch" accommodation policy employed by Mrs. Buckland couldn't hope to cope with these results. The Houses certainly could not cope; bunk beds were constructed in Green House to help accommodate those returning. Some parents found it difficult to accept that their daughters would have an extra girl in their room and some VIth Formers would have to share rooms.
This came about as a result of sound teaching and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the teaching staff for their efforts that ensured such excellent results.
All have played their part in the growth and development of the school by their sound teaching methods and dedication to duty.
Five girls managed eight As or more. Violet Midzi was our top candidate with nine A's and two B's. I was delighted to see so many of our "weaker" girls distinguish themselves and move on to 'A' level.
Our girls do their post 'O' level studies here at the Boys School. ?twenty- six girls wrote two or more 'A' levels at the end of last year. Twenty-four managed passes in two or more subjects and 91% of all subjects written by our girls were passes. I congratulate those teachers who taught our girls on this side of the road.
At Z.J.C. 88% of all subjects written were passed. So this accelerated growth rate I spoke of has probably resulted in a positive impact on our successes in examinations. My fear is that we become too exam orientated and too fiercely competitive, as this will lead to even more pressure on our girls. I am confident that our ethos of providing a balanced all round educa- tion for our girls will continue and not allow this to happen.
Extra mural activities
There has to be a balance in education and I would like to switch my emphasis from the academic to extra mural activities carried out at school. Here, we are proud of the games facilities on offer and especially grateful to Mr. Querl of Peterhouse Boys for sharing his facilities with the Girls School. We have been able to take advantage of some of the finest facilities a school in this country can offer. This is something that new schools of a comparable age have been unable to do. And this has certainly been to our advantage.
We do remarkably well in all games especially when you consider our size. Although small enough to compete with other co-educational schools, we fare better than they do and we are better suited to the fiercer competition offered by the bigger girls schools in Harare and Bulawayo.
This year we had our most successful athletics season to date, winning all of the meetings easily. In hockey we managed to get two into the National sides, two reserves, and eight into the Provincial side. At basketball we had, too, our most successful year ever with four girls gaining Provincial selection in both the U16 and Open Age groups. Sadly this year we say farewell to Mrs Bond/Ms Bennett. She has been responsible for basketball at Peterhouse Girls - she leaves basketball healthy and flourishing.
At swimming, tennis, squash, volleyball and the newly re-introduced rowing we have had outstanding team and individual performances.
At the end of this year we lose Eunice Musvasva. Mention must be made of Eunice - she has represented six school sports at first team level and has had National representations in hockey, basketball and athletics. She is certainly one of the most outstanding sports persons I have encountered and she has been a perfect example for those in her teams and lower down the school. Eunice received an Honours Award for her contribution to sport while at Peterhouse.
I thank Mrs Querl for all she has done for sport at the Girls' School and I wish her and our First Team hockey every success on their tour of Kenya later this year.
Choir tour
This has been a year for touring. Good years generally are. Our first tour - the Choir Tour - travelled to South Africa during August. Few knew that Peterhouse has girls; all had heard of the Boys School reputation. We made a good impression and were excellent ambassadors for our school and country on and off the stage.
I accompanied the girls and was proud of them on so many occasions. Sarah Pratt - as Head Chorister cared well for the girls and sang so beautifully at the concerts.
Cultural activities
During the year there have been many occasions when we have excelled - our results in the Allied Arts competition were outstanding; we gained seven International and five Regional passes at the were of a very high standard; music and art go from strength to strength thanks to our interaction with the Boys School. Our Games Houses have been involved in charity work to help those less fortunate - I could go on.
Other issues
And, yes - as you would expect - we have had our fair share of problems. I, personally, still feel so responsible when things go wrong but I often read an extract that I keep on my desk. It is from a book written by the father of a J.M. who came out to Springvale and worked at St. Francis. He was killed in a motor car accident while returning from the Zambezi - I'11 read it to you now.
" To shield those we love, to offer them short cuts and safe pathways through the risky business of living, to keep them from harm - nothing could be more natural, nothing could be more wrong. For my humanity is uniquely mine; my manhood is mine, not yours; my fulfilment is mine, not yours; my way into the mystery of God is mine and mine alone. "
Perhaps we aim too often at "safe pathways". We all, at times, make mistakes - what is important is that we learn from them.
For too long we in Zimbabwe have been sheltered from the real world - the violence and pornography watched on both TV. and the cinema and the availability of drugs and alcohol. The breakdown in the family unit has led to an abandonment of teaching children what is right and wrong. Who can blame them if they feel right is what they feel like doing as long as they can get away with it.
I, and other colleagues, believe that we at school are having to assume greater responsibilities for the development of your children than ever before. Issues that spring to mind include eating disorders, pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, manners and etiquette, religion. We need to bear in mind the responsibilities of both parties - parents and school. Each party must aim at imparting norms and values that will enable those in our care to make the right decision. We live in a difficult world - the young are bound to make mistakes but we must develop mechanisms to put them on the right road again. And we, too, must stand our ground, be more vigilant and strong and re-visit the values and morals to which we subscribe and be honest and brave enough to re-affirm them with our children.
There are so many who work hard to ensure success in our school. I thank them all. I would like to make special mention of Mrs Buckland, our Senior Mistress, and thank her for her efforts and support during this year. I am confident that as we grow and develop, the new Houses will be built -a Hall will be added as will a new library, music centre and laboratory. Our school is a dynamic entity. I see no reason that it should not, in time, become the top school in the country.
J.B. CALDERWOOD
HEADMASTER
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