Former prefects from Cambridge High School took a walk down memory lane yesterday as heads from as far back as the 1940s attended a prefect induction assembly at the school.
Public relations officer Kevin Barnard said though reunions were not new to the school, it was the first time past pupils from so far back had been brought together under one roof.
According to Barnard, the oldest pupil to attend the assembly was a prefect from 1941, with the youngest from 2015.
“This is a first for the school and I think a first for East London as well. I don’t think any other school has ever done something like this,” Barnard said.
Former head girl and guest speaker Yvette Swanepoel (Vosloo when she matriculated in 1992), encouraged the incoming prefects to serve the school well and always to follow their hearts.
Swanepoel, now a Johannesburg-based school teacher, said what made the school excellent to this day were the strong values imparted to pupils.
“It’s also the dedication of the teachers here at the school and you can see it by looking at the learners. The way they strive to excel in their studies, the way they wear their school uniform and the well maintained grounds here at the school.
“I feel so much pride being here today. The school looks just as beautiful as it did in my years here,” she said.
Cynthia Buswell, a 1943 head prefect, reminisced on how the school had changed.
“Firstly the location has changed. The old high school was where the preparatory is now,” she said.
Tony Viljoen, retired school head who had been at the helm for 20 years, said the assembly had given them an opportunity to reminisce.
Viljoen was head boy in 1950.
“It feels good, I must say. I’m glad the past pupil association managed to get everybody to come out.”
Going down memory lane with former prefects
Public relations officer Kevin Barnard said though reunions were not new to the school, it was the first time past pupils from so far back had been brought together under one roof.
According to Barnard, the oldest pupil to attend the assembly was a prefect from 1941, with the youngest from 2015.
“This is a first for the school and I think a first for East London as well. I don’t think any other school has ever done something like this,” Barnard said.
Former head girl and guest speaker Yvette Swanepoel (Vosloo when she matriculated in 1992), encouraged the incoming prefects to serve the school well and always to follow their hearts.
Swanepoel, now a Johannesburg-based school teacher, said what made the school excellent to this day were the strong values imparted to pupils.
“It’s also the dedication of the teachers here at the school and you can see it by looking at the learners. The way they strive to excel in their studies, the way they wear their school uniform and the well maintained grounds here at the school.
“I feel so much pride being here today. The school looks just as beautiful as it did in my years here,” she said.
Cynthia Buswell, a 1943 head prefect, reminisced on how the school had changed.
“Firstly the location has changed. The old high school was where the preparatory is now,” she said.
Tony Viljoen, retired school head who had been at the helm for 20 years, said the assembly had given them an opportunity to reminisce.
Viljoen was head boy in 1950.
“It feels good, I must say. I’m glad the past pupil association managed to get everybody to come out.”
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