The Genesis of Herschel’s Legacy 1922-1929

The legacy of Herschel Girls School began in 1922, with South Africa in an age of white supremacy, and the early stages of revolution. The country was also pre-apartheid and post-WWI, which presented its own problems and advances. The war sparked the beginnings of gender equality and women empowerment. The school began in an era of social, political and economic change, which would prove to influence its staff, students and surrounding community.



Today, Herschel is located within the southern suburb of Claremont, which was originally a farm named Veldhuyzen (i.e. Feldhausen). This was a segment of the major Dutch Colonists’ estate, which was seized by the British in 1814 and subdivided in 1822. Feldhausen was sold to Mr. Valentinus Alexis Schonnberg, an incompetent farmer who soon fell into great debt through the gambling away of large sums of his money. In order to relieve some of his debt, Mr. V. A. Schonnberg rented out his farm to a Sir John Frederick William Herschel and his family, after whom our school was named, for GBP 3000 in 1834.

Within a few months of their arrival, the Herschel family had already made an offer to buy the land. By the 27th of February 1834, it was put under their name for the price of GBP 3000. Schonnberg’s sole condition was to remain on his small portion of the land, which was named after his noble neighbour as a token of his appreciation. In the event of Mr Schonnberg’s death, 5 years later, Feldhausen was auctioned off by his son, Mr V.A. Schonnberg Jr., in the liquidation of his father’s estate to discharge his remaining debts.

The five bedroomed, single-story house, as   well as the long and narrow plot that Herschel lay upon, was sold to a Captain Thomas Harris. After Harris’ death his second wife, Caroline Rose, who had previously run a school with her mother, was left with the land and saw no other way to make ends meet but by converting Herschel into a seminary for young ladies. In order for Herschel to become a practical venue for a school it had to be enlarged and consequently the single-story home became double-story and it now consisted of five rooms on the upper level and eleven rooms on the lower. The plot would fall under the ownership of several successive owners one of whom would renovate it back into a private home while another, a certain green-thumbed  Mrs. Rutherfoord who clearly took notice of her neighbours, the Ardernes, when taking it upon herself to enhance the gardens.



Herschel began its restoration into a seminary on 14 July 1921, when the English Church School’s Association acquired the land, thanks to a generous donation from the Hon. J.W. Jagger. This change of ownership promped the first blueprints of Herschel Girl’s School as it is known today. There had been  pressure to open the school as quickly as possible, as many young girls had been turned away by other school’s in Cape Town, such as St. Cyprian’s,  due to a surplus of applicants in the post-WWI housing boom. Herschel Girl’s school was officially open on the 16th of February 1922.

Miss Morley Armitage Ralph was appointed as headmistress, after having headed the Diocesan School for Girls in Grahamstown. She was a middle-aged woman of who did not have a tertiary education qualification, as many women hadnt at the time, giving women’s current role in society. Miss Ralph’s ethos for the school evidently mirrored her generation’s morality.  Her vision for the students’ education was to receive a “good all-round education.” She wanted the Herschel girls to excel academically, but also placed great emphasis on cultural enrichment ( i.e. music, literature, art and drama). Herschel’s roots of social responsibility and spirituality stem from its first Headmistress, who encouraged religion as a medium in which “to find expression in thought for others”. Miss Ralph initiated a Social Responsibility Club, which dedicated itself to aiding their community through variouis charitable projects. Religion and moral values were closely related when it came to the white colonialist children that would have attended Herschel.

Miss Ralph’s “view on life” was reflected in the syllabus and the activities she planned for the students. Miss Ralph, the headmistress and Miss Stafford, the boarding house matron, had corresponding values which insisted on fresh air and the ideal to “Educate without compromise, the world is theirs to challenge”. Her passion for the outdoors resulted with the introduction of the sleeping balconies for the many boarders. She believed that to have the beds unsheltered would result in a constant supply of fresh air and therefore lessen the spreading of contagious diseases. This quote substantiates the effectiveness of the sleeping balconies in the trial stages of construction; “in health we have been singularly blessed, two cases of measles and one of chicken pox being the only infectious illness in the house since we opened”. The boarders bravely bared the wet winters and the howling south-easter winds when the sleeping balconies were constructed. 

Figure 5

The great economic depression of 1929 had a great international influence,  bruising  state economies and crippling the global community. This directly affected Herschel, and although Miss Ralph wanted to continue the expansion of the school she struggled to gain financial support from parents or the council. This caused numbers at Herschel Girls School to drop, and pressured the council to keep the school’s economic affairs afloat. The financial constraints of this time did immensely affect the school during the early stages but with the guidance of the devoted headmistress, Herschel Girls’ School was not just able to continue its existence during the global depression but also expand its assets.

Due to the positive change in perception about women’s’ abilities, the subjects offered at Herschel covered a broad spectrum for possible employment of the new “working woman”. Typing was offered at standard and higher grade which would be the equivalent of information technology. The girls were encouraged to take on more than the required subjects and soon pottery, botany and speech work became favourites in the timetable. Subsequently, the first Herschel magazine, “D’s Deeds” which was compiled by the students and organised by the English teacher, Miss van der Heijst was published by 1927.

Herschel Girls School was born within an era of exciting changes and developments. The young girls would have been susceptible to many positive and negative international and local influences when it came to entertainment, fashion, ethnicity, religion, morality and the independence of women. Even upon the eve of the great economic depression of 1929, the education provided by Herschel Girls’ School was one that strived for excellence in more than academics, and remained true to its ethos of morality and spirituality. These ideals were imbedded into the schools tradition, and maintained, from the beginning and beyond.

Authors: Xènia Greenhalgh, Nonto Mponda, Kim Parker

Headmistresses 1930-1939



Miss Morley A.Ralph

Miss Morley A. Ralph was the first headmistress of Herschel, until she was sadly asked to retire in 1933, after 11 years. By then the Great Depression was upon South Africa, causing Herschel to struggle to continue. The number of students were rapidly diminishing; from 88 girls in 1930 to 65 in 1935 and continued to decrease. Miss Ralph had a passion for fresh air, which was very popular in that time. This passion gave rise to the famous sleeping-balconies for the boarders, as well as many excursions to St. James beach and hikes up the mountain. Many years of Herschelians suffered through the blustering South Easters and Cape Winters. Miss Ralph’s retirement was a result of the newly set retirement age, of 50. Miss Ralph was over 50. This was a blow to her as well as the school, but never did she allow the girls to notice. The girls were terribly sad to see her leave.

Excursion to St. James Beach

Miss Harriet Robinson was appointed at the end of 1932 but could only join Herschel in 1933. So Miss Ralph graciously stayed on until the end of the first term. This was the first time in history Herschel had a change of headmistress. Miss Robinson accepted the position, on the condition that the council was prepared to spend on building and equipment improvements. The council accepted despite the troubled financial times. Miss Robinson wore an academic gown, which was very uncommon for the time, this shows her dedication to academic aspects and improvements to Herschel. Soon after her arrival, the student numbers began to increase; at the beginning of 1934 there were 52 girls, by the end of the year there were 62 and by 1937 there were 131 girls pulling the school out of danger.

Miss Harriet Robinson

Miss Robinson brought considerable change to the school in the years she was Head. In 1933 the idea of a new swimming bath was brought about and many events were created to raise funds. In the Lent term, Miss Robinson broke away from tradition; at the Lady Buxton Home Fete where instead of the usual handicraft stall she initiated a sweet stall. They were the first stall to sellout and raised over 23 pounds, to go towards the swimming bath. In 1934 the first Inter-House plays were performed where the proceeds went towards the swimming bath fund. To everybody’s delight, especially Miss Robinson’s, the long awaited swimming bath was completed in December 1938.

Swimming Bath in 1938

In 1934 the school year was divided into four quarters instead of what was previously three terms, divided by the Anglican calendar; Lent term, Trinity term and the Christmas term. In 1935 Miss Robinson also opened the domestic science classroom that we have today. As building improvements were important to her, a new tennis court was constructed on top of the old netball court in 1938 and down the road they started the process of building a new netball court, which was first used in a match against the Old Herschelians Society. Herschel also welcomed a new dog called Hamlet the Great Dane.

“This new and great Great Dane is ever present with us – at our meals, occasionally at our lessons and too frequently at our games.” – Miss Robinson

The first Founders Day of the school was held at St. Saviour’s Church in 1938, where Arch Bishop Phelps conducted the service. He then gave a short

speech at the prize giving back at the school. This was extensively reviewed in the Cape Times the next day.  

The Herschel Badge was gifted to the school by Sir John Herschel’s grandson who gave permission to use parts of the Herschel family crest in the school emblem. “I am much interested in your idea of associating your school more closely with the memory of my grandfather, and I gladly consent to your incorporating in your school badge some feature which will create and keep up that association as a tradition in the minds of the scholars.” John W. Herschel (grandson) said this in a letter on the subject. The design for the badge consist of an H, which the family refers to as ‘The Herschel H’, and combines the family initial and the symbol for Uranus, which is on the family coat-of-arms.

Herschel Badge As Designed By Mr. Groves

References:

Books

1.       Margaret Saffery. ‘The Stars Looked Down On Herschel’ – Pageant Program published in 1972

2. Various Authors. Annual Herschelians Nos. 8-14 published 1933-1939.

The Academics at Herschel Girls School

Herschel academics has evolved through the years. As new headmistresses came, along with their leadership came different ethics and outlooks on the school’s academic reputation. Through this timeline of past headmistresses, the contrasts between them are displayed, and in doing so will indicate a realisation of the evolvement of our school’s academics.

Miss Ralph

The first Herschel headmistress was Miss Ralph, who blended the societal beliefs of the 1920s into the ethos of Herschel Girls School. She felt it unnecessary to educate women for their careers; instead she believed that the education of girls to become wives and mothers was more important and suitable. Miss Ralph possessed no tertiary qualifications and belonged to a pre-war generation therefore making her ill-equipped to guide a new school. Miss Ralph emphasised the inclusion of the arts in the school curriculum and enforced a more liberal education where examinations and competitiveness always came second to the beauty one could learn from nature, art, literature and music. Within the duration of Miss Ralph’s time as headmistress, the attendance of various concerts, plays and art exhibitions became of primary importance, and in doing so resulted in the neglect of other subjects such as the sciences and mathematics. Even Afrikaans was neglected as Miss Ralph refused its significance in the syllabus. To Miss Ralph, school was the place where “young ladies could acquire a basic education and a veneer of culture”. The careers of these young ladies resulted as marriage, housewifery and motherhood.

By 1926, Herschel started to receive criticism for the school’s lack of academic progress and in attempt to improve this, students were told that they were no longer allowed to drop subjects arbitrarily.

The year of 1933 marked the start of a new Herschel. Miss Harriet Robinson, the new headmistress of Herschel, proved to have rebuilt the school both physically and academically by the time her post as headmistress drew to a close in 1944. Miss Robinson possessed a university degree in botany, a teaching diploma and was Fellow of the Linnaean Society. She belonged to a family who placed high value on education as well as creative arts—this was exactly the sort of atmosphere Herschel desperately needed to adopt. Miss Robinson was required to improve academic performance without losing the cultural enrichment Herschel offered. From 1939 to 1940, re-construction began. New art and music classrooms were installed as well as the Duncan Baxter Library. The Duncan Baxter Library has, since its existence, grown and been altered from a few books to an immense resource centre of fictional, non-fictional and encyclopaedic books and electronic devices such as internet-linked computers, film projectors, video recorders, televisions, photocopiers, printers and more.

In 1945, Miss Barbara Elcome took position as headmistress. Following Miss Elcome, was Miss McLean in 1947, who continued to emphasise the importance of academics. Miss McLean believed that a student should be capable of delivering in an examination under any circumstances, and thus she implemented a routine according to which the students were to write one test every three weeks, unwarned. This enforced the necessity for the girls to focus and work hard during class time, for Miss McLean believed that if one did so in class one would be able to deliver in any examination without the need of additional studying. Miss McLean also implemented Afrikaans as a compulsory subject at Herschel, and in addition to this she also placed intensive emphasis on the academic sciences.

After Mrs McLean’s large emphasis on science, Mrs Kittow would balance this in 1962 by placing equal emphasis on the arts as well as spiritual and moral education. She strongly encouraged the girls to get involved in school activities such as music and drama clubs, the choir and debating. She did, however, add three new laboratories to the science department.

Mrs Silberbauer saw the 1974 change in education policy, where the girls were now to choose subjects in Standard 7 (Grade 9) for Standard 8 (Grade 10) and the level at which they would be taken: either standard or higher grade. This subject choice would determine whether Matriculation Exemption or a school-leaving certificate could be achieved. Mrs Silberbauer could see that the school’s academic facilities were in dire need of attention, and thus she initiated the building of new biology and geography laboratories and numerous academic classrooms. The arts thrived at Herschel with Mrs Silberbauer at the helm, promoting them through the many Herschel plays, music evenings and art exhibitions that she held. Drama became a matric subject, Pottery an eligible subject choice and Domestic Science underwent a name change to Home Economics during her time.

Miss Geldard followed Mrs Silberbauer from 1979 to 1985, leading the school through a time of relatively peaceful consolidation.

Miss Duff was next in line, her main aim was to prepare Herschel for the 21^st century. She placed Herschel in the forefront of development in all fields by upgrading all the school’s facilities, focusing especially on technological aspects. Miss Duff supervised the switch from the JMB examination to the Cape Senior Certificate as well as the building of the theatre 1988. In 1989 she introduced Computer Science as a subject, and approved ceramics as a matric art option. She also introduced an optional first aid course for the girls and encouraged job shadowing through the “Placement Program”.

As the academics at Herschel rapidly continued to progress, Mrs Duff began to realise the importance of academic facilities. She initiated the building of the atrium, resource centre and library, the upgrading of the science laboratories and the modernisation of the home economics classroom. She established a new computer room in 1993, which was moved a year later to the present position of the resource centre. With the new advanced equipment it contained, Herschel was linked to the Internet by August 1994. Mrs Duff’s close attention to promoting academics at Herschel proved beneficial and the school was recognised as one of the best in the country according to its excellent academic performance.  

Methods of Teaching:

Over the past 90 years the method of teaching at Herschel has evolved to now focus primarily on thinking skills, giving way to a more cognitive education. This promotes and enhances the girls’ development of critical, creative and caring mindsets that in turn will serve them in all aspects of life both during and after school. The excellent matric results achieved by the Herschel girls year in and year out are a clear indication of the success of this teaching method, this success would however not be possible were it not for the teachers at Herschel. These teachers have a significant influence on the girls, giving them a sense of security through knowing that they and their subjects are being taken seriously. As said by Mr. Probyn, “Professional teachers produce professional pupils. It can’t happen any other way.”

SUBJECTS OFFERED	THEN (offered at standard or higher grade)	NOW
COMPULSORY	■     Afrikaans ■     Biology ■     English	■     African Language at a 1st Additional or Home Language level ■     English ■     Life Orientation ■     Mathematics (or Mathematical Literacy from grade 11)
GRADE 8 – 9 ONLY		■     International Computer Driving License ■     Technology
FROM GRADE 10	The selection of one subject from each group: 1      Art French Latin 2      Art Domestic Science Mathematics Music 3      Geography History Music Science	The selection of any three (or four) subjects: ■     Accounting ■     Business Studies ■     Consumer Studies ■     Dramatic Arts ■     French (2nd Additional level) ■     Geography ■     German (2nd Additional level) ■     Life Sciences ■     Physical Sciences ■     Music ■     Visual Art ■     Xhosa (2nd Additional level)
Other	■     Typing	■     Advance Programme Mathematics (from Grade 10) ■     Advance Programme English (from Grade 11)

Academic Achievements:

Year:	Recognition:	Pass rate:	Matric Results:	Dux of The School:
1979	3 girls achieved an A-aggregate and 8 achieved a B-aggregate	100%	20 subject distinctions and 39 out of 46 candidates achieved entrance into university.
1981		100%	26 subject distinctions and 39 out of 45 candidates achieved entrance into university.
1985	4 girls achieved an A-aggregate	100%	23 subject distinctions and 40 out of 45 candidates achieved entrance into university.	Marion Bladergroen
1986	Catherine Gibaub placed 6th in SA in English Olympiad	100%		Catherine Gibaub
1988	7 girls achieved an A-aggregate	100%	Obtained the highest percentage, in the Cape, of candidates with A-aggregates	Larissa Peter
1989	5 girls achieved an A-aggregate	100%	25 subject distinctions and 95% of candidates achieved entrance into university.	Sandra van Hoogstraten
1990		100%	82,5% of candidates achieved entrance into university.	Jane Eedes
1993	8 girls achieved an A-aggregate and Nicola Clegg made the top 20 in the Western Cape, achieving 7 distinctions. 18 other girls achieved B-aggregates.	100%	54 subject distinctions and 94,5% of candidates achieved entrance into university.
1995	17 girls with A-aggregates	100%	64 subject distinctions and 94,1% of candidates achieved entrance into university
1996	Dianne Gordon and Patricia Pletzer won 1st prize at Western Cape Science Expo	100%	23 girls with an A-aggregate, 106 subject distinctions and 91,1% of candidates achieved entrance into university	Amy Burdzick
1997	25 girls with an A-aggregate	100%	92 subject distinctions and 93,5% of candidates achieved entrance into university	Kate Bloch
1998	53% of candidates achieved A-aggregates	100%		Mary Haw
1999	Herschel is one of the top schools in SA.	100%	33% of candidates achieved A-aggregates and 98,8% of candidates achieved entrance into university	Amber Kisch
2000	Zoe Beyers is placed 8th in the Western Cape	100%	36% of candidates achieved A-aggregates	Zoe Beyers
2001	Herschel is the top school in the Western Cape, 5th in SA for best national academic results and in the top 36 in SA for achieving 100% pass rate.	100%	222 subject distinctions (average of 2,6 distinctions per candidate) and 98,8%candidates achieved entrance into university	Melissa Loudon (16th in Western Cape)
2002		100%	282 subject distinctions and 73% of candidates achieved A-aggregates	Jennifer de Beyer
2003	Herschel is the top school in the Western Cape.	100%	208 subject distinctions and 48,8% of candidates achieved A-aggregates	Amy Jansen
2004	Herschel is the top school in the Western Cape.	100%	307 subject distinctions and 63 candidates achieved A-aggregates	Nastassja Koen (17th in the Western Cape)
2005		100%	189 subject distinctions and 39 candidates achieved A-aggregates	Karen Lamont
2006	Herschel is the top school in the Western Cape. Herschel achieved top distinction aggregate in Western Cape.	100%	Stephanie Bouwer obtained 8 distinctions. 46 candidates achieved A-aggregates	Nicola McDonald
2007		100%	76 candidates achieved A-aggregates	Lara Sadler
2008		100%	92% of candidates achieved entrance into university	Jenna Nicholls
2009		100%	296 subject distinctions	Alexandra Doyle
2010	An average of 4,21 distinctions per candidate was achieved for matrics of 2010.	100%	413 subject distinctions and 100% of candidates achieved entrance into university.
2011				Caitlin Hayward

Authored by Christa Kotze and Ceilidhe Speirs.