Waka waka Rick in Africa: Wynberg Boys High and awesome days in Cape Town

On the lst July 1841, John McNaughton opened the doors of his new school, the ‘Established School at Wynberg’ in Glebe Cottage. Newly arrived from Scotland, he found himself teaching in a single room with 65 pupils – none of whom could read and write! In addition, he was sharing the cottage with the Lady D’Urban School of Industry for young ladies. In terms of the Government policy of the day, it was specifically laid down that there was to be no prejudice in terms of colour, creed or gender. It was also reported that the young Headmaster soon made a name for himself insisting on good grooming.

It is now 170 years later and it is pleasing to report that the school has come full circle. Apart from the fact that it has been a Boys Only school since 1853, the school has returned to its roots and once again represents the full spectrum of the community. Emphasis is still made on manners, pride in uniform and respect for all.

Today Wynberg is unashamedly a Boys School. We understand Boys and we believe in Boys. Through activities in the classroom, in the fiercely competitive matches on the sports fields, on the stages of music and dramatic productions or in the multiplicity of service opportunities, our mission remains the same – to IGNITE boys’ curiosity and passion, to SUPPORT their drive for excellence in all they pursue, to ENCOURAGE them in their journey to young adulthood and to CHALLENGE them to make a difference in every area of life in which they involve themselves.

This is the school where I work during my Exchange program, a school with many traditions and a goal; the students must bring the best out of themselves. In my first blog I already told that school in South Africa is much different from the schools in Holland. There is more discipline and respect for the teachers, which I think is good! The students wear school uniforms, actually I think it would be good to introduce it in Holland as well, it looks good if everybody wears the same clothes and furthermore it saves a lot of problems. However we can’t introduce it again in Holland, it’s too late and it will produce lots of protests.

I have to wear a shirt with tie and with assemblies even a blazer; like every other teacher. This is also very different from the schools in Holland where the teachers can wear what they want, just like the students. At school everyone is calling me “sir”, which is still a strange thought for me, I am just a few years older than the most of the students and I am sure that there are students who are older than me.

I am doing different jobs at school. I often doing admin work for the headmaster or other teachers, this are jobs like survey’s, sending text messages to parents about their Childs behaviour, photo copying etc. I am also the tennis administrator of the school, this means that when our school plays a match I have to send a email with a confirmation that we will play that match or the other way around, I have to ask for a confirmation when we’re playing at home. Another important job is invigilating test periods every Tuesday morning and Friday afternoon. I had my own test period class for the last 6 weeks, now I can imagine how hard it is for a teacher to learn 33 different names. From 14 November till 2 December are the test weeks, I got my own timetable to see when and where I have to invigilate a class. It’s nice to see it from the other side, I can remember how I hated my toetsweken, now I’m enjoying myself to hear all those pens and the sounds yearning boys.

I am also a member of the Afrikaans department, at the moment I’m doing especially admin work, but I also assist the Afrikaans teachers with their lessons. Next week is going to be a busy week for me, I have many things to do for the Afrikaans department, these are the last weeks before the vacation and still lots of things have to be finished. They also will involve me with the year planner of next year.
Other jobs are helping other teachers with different jobs and coaching/ accompany the tennis teams, when they’ve got matches.

The boarding House
In the beginning it was hard to live in a boarding house, but now I’m used to it and actually I’m enjoying it, although I love to go to my host family in the weekends . At 6.30 a very load alarm rings and everyone get up to take a shower and make their selves ready for breakfast at 07.00. After breakfast I brush my teeth and dress myself for school. When everybody is ready we walk with the four gap-students to school. After school/ tennis I am going back to the hostel, here I can do whatever I want. Often we going out to the beach, town or the shopping mall around the corner. At 18.00 is dinner, I must say I don’t like the hostel food (some days I hate it), but you get used to it. My meals are cheese free now, so that is already a big improvement.

The first 2 weeks of November

In the month November (and the end of October) I’ve done such cool things! I have been to a concert of The Kings Of Leon in Cape Town Stadium (Greenpoint). Although I knew not all of their songs, I knew just 3, it was really awesome. Also the fireworks after the concert were really awesome and to be in the stadium where The Netherlands won their semi-final was a really cool thing. As a Feyenoord supporter I have already been to a game of Ajax Cape Town, also in that beautiful Cape Town Stadium. We had hospitality seats, where we had free drinks and lots of food. It was strange to see a team playing with exactly the same shirt as Ajax Amsterdam. Unfortunately they lost with 0-2, a big disappointment for me and the other fans, all the fans were sad and I can tell you that were a lot (see picture).

At the fifth and sixth of November I have been to Simon’s town, a area on the other side of Cape Town, near Cape Point. Behind our house was a penguin park and many traditional African market stalls, where I bought a very nice photo book. There was also a very nice beach and it was my first time that I swam in the African sea, which was freezing cold! At Sunday we have been to Cape Point, the narrowest and most south western point of the African continent. It was amazing place, where I took lots of pictures. There were also wild animals, I´ve seen lot´s of baboons and ostriches.

The tenth of November I have visited my first cricket match with the other gap-students, South Africa versus Australia! It was a great experience with the game, but also with the South African culture. Rugby, Soccer and Cricket are the most popular sports of the country and watching a cricket game of the national team in Newlands stadium is a big thing. It was a test match, which takes 5 days, but South Africa was so good that they won the game on Friday after only 2 and a half days. Bad luck for the people who had tickets for Saturday and Sunday... My next goal is visiting a Rugby match, but that won’t be a problem with all those rugby fans around me.

Last week it was also the first time that I have been surfing at Muizenberg, a famous place for surfers. They said that it was a ideal place for beginners, but in my opinion the waves were pretty high for beginners! Nevertheless we had great fun. Before we entered the water I was a little bit afraid of sharks! I’ve read and heard a lot of stories about people who are killed by sharks since I am here in Cape Town, but after all, I am so glad that I’ve done it! The water had such a nice temperature (probably because of my wetsuit) and the surfing was fun, although I really sucked in it, that stupid plank hit my head two times when I tried to stand on it!