<Waverley Girls' High School

History Of Waverley Girls HighSchool

History Of Waverley Girls HighSchool

It is a suburban school situated within 500m of a busy road, a shop, a taxi rank, bus stop, Secondary Schools and a Primary School.
The immediate community status is in the high income group but the learners come from middle, low poverty stricken and unemployed communities.
In 1952 the Transvaal Department of Education decided that there should be a girls school to serve Waverley and its environs and that the
Highlands North School would become a boys' school. In January 1953 Waverley Girls' High School was born – at first a nameless infant.
The 261 girls occupied 8 prefabs in a corner of the ground of the boys' school. Six months later the school moved to a home of its own – not a very grand home simply a new prefab
building on the Northview site adjoining Balfour Park. The grounds were unfenced and stray cows roamed at will. The permanent building was ready for occupation in July 1954, and officially open
ed in March 1955 by the Administrator of the Transvaal, Dr W Nicol.


The years that followed have been years of steady progress marked not only by good examination results but also by improvements in school uniform,
achievement on the playing fields, successful dramatic productions and growing interest in school societies. By the end of 1959 most of the essential ground development was complete:
Waverley Girls' High School was on the map.
The founders of our school drew their inspiration from Sir Walter Scott in finding names for the school and for the six school houses.
These they took from his novels and the long narrative poems he wrote. Rob Roy was a fearless highland chieftain, Peverill of the Peak a stout cavalier,
and Kenilworth tells of the Earl of Leicester – a very gallant gentleman. The dashing young Lochinvar, the proud Marmian and the able crusader, Ivanhoe, represent the flow of
medieval chivalry as depicted by Scott. Traditionally Waverley Girls' served a white community dominated by the Jewish culture with a mix of English,
Italian, Lebanese and Portuguese girls. At the time Waverley Girls' grew steadily in numbers as many parents wanted their daughters in a monastic school.
There were not too many English High schools in existence as Sandown was established in 1970 and Wendywood High in 1987. Many girls were coming from the Halfway House region and a proper transport service for these pupils was in place. Once these schools were established the pupil numbers started to decline until the lowest enrolment was reached in 1991 with only 385 on the roll.


It was with the establishment of the Model C schools that things started to improve. Under the leadership of Mrs Button and the then Governing Body,
it was decided to open the school to all races. Officially Waverley became a Model C school on the 1 April 1992.
It was a brave move and it resulted in numerous parents removing their girls from the school. In the long run it proved to be a visionary move.
In the late 90's when many other schools battled through the transition period, Waverley had already transformed. During all these changes the school clung to its traditions and values built up through the years. Waverley Girls' High School is still making its mark and striving for the best interest of the learners.


Copyright © Waverley Girls' High School 2016 Welcome to Waverley Girls' High School. In line with our motto "Quantum In Nobis" which translates to "Within Us Is Great Potential"
we aim to teach and inspire our students to realize their full potential and be the best they can in both academic and extra mural activities.
We use best practice teaching and mentorship methods that help our students to acquire essential life skills which equip them for a happy prosperous life after graduating
from the school and be of value to the society at large. We are an average sized school with a good teacher to learner ratio ensuring that each learner is known well but large enough to offer a broad range of subjects and experience.
Our website covers essential aspects of the school from history of the school, vision and mission,
listing of staff to a rich gallery highlighting our sports, facilities and clubs. The academic section of our website allows you to see a listing of
all the subjects that we teach and to download the application form. We appreciate giving of all kinds by former students and staff "alumni" or friends of the school.
In this regards the website has a giving and alumni section because we value
our friends and alumni as important role models for current students and as internal ambassodors

who spread positive message about our beautiful school to the outside world through their professional and social networks.
The calender section of the website shows the opening and closing dates for each of the 4 terms of the year and a link to download the detailed program for each of the respecive terms. If you need to contact us or visit the school you will find our phone number, fax number, email, map and gps coordinates on the contact us section of the website. Please come and meet us and see what our school can offer your child!