Potchefstroom Gimnasium
Pupils and staff of the preparatory school (later Potchefstroom Gimnasium) in front of the school
Location
Potchefstroom , North West South Africa
Coordinates	26°41′11″S 28°05′51″E / 26.6865°S 28.0974°E / -26.6865; 28.0974
Information
Type	Public & Boarding
Motto	Fac et Spera (Latin: "Work and hope")
Religious affiliation(s)	Christianity
Founded	1907 (1907)
School district	District 9
Principal	Van der Merwe, FW [1]
Staff	100 full-time
Grades	8–12
Gender	Boys & Girls
Age	13 to 18
Number of students	1,056 pupils
Language	Afrikaans
Schedule	07:30 - 14:00
Campus	Urban Campus
Campus type	Suburban
Colour(s)	Blue   White
Nickname	Gimmies
Rival	Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom
Accreditation	North West Department of Education
Newspaper	SASIMA
Website	[2]

Potchefstroom Gimnasium is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational high School in Potchefstroom, North West, South Africa.

Beginnings

It was founded in 1907,^[3] by the Theological Centre of the Reformed Church of South Africa.^[4] Dutch was the language of teaching.^[5] The founders committee existed of Kamp, J., Duvenage, A.P.C, Lion Cachet, J., Postma, F. and du Toit, J.D.^[6] The school started in the Theological Centre's Library.^[7] The first Head Master was Coetsee, J.A.A. He was head master until 1938.^[8]

Head Masters

Head masters to follow: Kruger, W.deK. (1938-1965), Combrink, A.J. (1965-1974), Kruger, A.B.J. (1974-1979), Dreyer, L.A. (1979-1982), Grobler, A.N. (1982-1985), Janson, C.A. (1986-1999) and Breed, J. (2000-2008). Oosthuizen, R.A. (2009-2021). Van der Merwe, FW is the current head master since February 2022.^[9]

Changes through the years

• The first hostel was built in 1907.^[10]
• The school was first known as “Voorbereidende Skool”.(Translated: preparatory school) On 13 November 1914 it changed its name too Potchefstroom Gimnasium.^[11]
• The school became a government school in 1915 and was not ruled by the church any more.^[12]
• In 1916 it changed the language medium to Afrikaans.^[13]
• From 1917 to 1920 J Chris Coetzee taught at the school. He later became rector of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education.
• In May 1947 it moved to its own building.^[14]

Motto and crest

The motto is “Fac et Spera”, which is Latin for “Work and Hope”. This was taken out of the Dutch States Bible.^[15] The crest existed out of an anchor (a symbol of hope). The other two instruments are a pick and a shovel (symbols of work)^[16]

Hostels

The school has two hostels:

• Boys- Brandwag^[17]
• Girls- Cachet^[18]

Alumni

• Tjaart Marais (born 1961)- Rugby Fly-half for Western Transvaal and scored 703 Currie Cup points in his career.^[19]
• Henriette Grové (1922-2009)– Writer^[20]
• Greta Jones (1965-1992)- Singer^[21]
• Theuns Eloff (born 1955) ^[22] - Ex- vice Chancellor of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education^[23] and Executive Director of the FW de Klerk Foundation.
• Theo Jansen van Rensburg (born 1967)^[24]- springbok rugby player (full-back)^[25]
• Jan Brand van Rooyen de Wet (born 1950) –Singer^[26]
• Ockert Potgieter (1965-2021) - South African Missionary in the Ukraine.^[27] and movie director^[28]

International connection

Since 2005 the school has a long-term agreement with a Swedish school, Växjö Fria Gimnasium.^[29] Each year, eight students are selected who together with students from the Swedish school form a working group focusing on development work in schools in South Africa's townships. They organize different fundraising projects and help in practical construction and repair of Schools.^[30]

Performances

• Academic- The best school in the North West Province in 2018.^[31]
• Best academic school in the country in 2017.^[32]
• The school was the overall Provincial winner of athletics in 2018.^[33]
• In 1967 se schools rugby team was the best in the country.^[34]

References