Victoria Park High School

Headmaster’s Report 2009

In a year when education has come under the spotlight, when the OBE system is being questioned at a national level, where the funding of previously “Model C” schools is being hotly debated and where the youth is being criticized, some schools have kept on striving to improve and provide quality education.

This time last year it was quite difficult to write the magazine report at the culmination of what proved to be a difficult year for Victoria Park.  This year the VP family has shown that it has what it takes to bounce back . . . and did we bounce back!   It is going to be difficult to decide on what to include this year as I am spoilt for choice.

Our 2009 Grade 8 intake has really excelled.  They have done well in the classroom, participated in school life with gusto and excelled on the sports fields.  Their character and competitiveness bodes well for the long-term future of the school.  They are being nurtured by a dedicated group of teachers who possess a healthy balance of youth and experience.  We are also blessed to have a good crop of male teachers to complement our ladies in a time when it is difficult to secure good role models of both sexes.

The Matric class of 2008 did us proud in their final examinations.  Three of our learners achieved marks that I believe must have placed them very high up the list of top academic achievers in the province!  The 99% pass rate was a little disappointing because we always strive to achieve a 100% pass rate.  The new pass requirements are tougher when it comes to English and this unfortunately impacted on us.  We have now carefully streamed our English classes so that we can give the necessary attention to the different needs of the learners.

Dale McCarthy, our Deputy Head Boy, was announced as the Eastern Cape “Matric of the Year” at a glittering ceremony held at the Boardwalk.  Dale was chosen above the tens of thousands of Matriculants in our area. He was short-listed on the merits of his CV and then interviewed brilliantly.  Dale has won prizes in excess of R150 000 as a reward for his superb academic results, his leadership track record, his sporting ability and his dedication to working for others.  This award shows a strong vote of confidence in Victoria Park High and its teachers and is an acknowledgement of his parents’ love and care.  Dale epitomizes everything in our mission statement and he is a good example of a “Proud Victorian.”

We dedicated two senior teachers to head up our sport this year. This has paid off in dividends as the school experienced an exciting year of sporting achievements.  The first rugby side did exceptionally well at the Stellenbosch festival, playing in the prestigious final  and having one of our boys selected as Player of the Tournament.  Later in the season four of our boys were selected for various provincial teams – a definitely first for us!  The soccer boys were deservedly crowned as the Team of the Year at our sports dinner after remarkable success in the league and in various tournaments nationally.  The hockey girls excelled as a team and did very well for us in our derby encounters showing a lot of spirit.  The soccer girls cleaned up all schools teams and then competed in the local women’s league.  They showed what VP ladies are capable of when they won the Port Elizabeth ladies’ knock out competition.  These girls have set a new standard for dedication and have shown that there is no substitute for hard work and team spirit.

During the June holidays our girls and boys hockey teams, our soccer team and our rugby team participated in various tournaments that included schools from all round the country.  In the sixteen matches played we remained unbeaten!  This is a truly remarkable achievement and places us in the forefront of co-educational schools.  Not many schools will be able to match this all round achievement.  Credit goes to the players and their passionate coaches who give up large portions of their holidays to make these achievements a reality.

The school musical in 2009, “My African Dream,” celebrated the music, dance and culture of South Africa.  The superb production received lavish praise from newspaper critics and was thoroughly enjoyed by the many people lucky enough to see it.  The many letters of congratulations made all the hard work that goes into a production of this magnitude really worthwhile.  The event organizers of the “Matric of the Year” competition called on VP to stage excerpts from the show as the entertainment for the glittering function.

While most schools have had to “tighten their belts” because of the recession, VP has been able to develop and invest money in projects in the best interests of the future of top quality education.  After plenty of discussion around the merits of an astroturf hockey facility, a swimming pool big enough for waterpolo and a new classroom complex, it was decided to make the academic future of the school a priority.  The building of a new block of eight classrooms is underway. This is going to afford us the luxury of having Grade 8 and 9 classes of 29, or fewer, learners.  It puts us in an elite group of schools where learners are more likely to get the individual attention they deserve, and where themaintenance of discipline (so essential for success) will prove to be a little easier.  These improvements have been made possible because of tight financial control and the insight of the Governing Body.  A new changing facility has been installed under the stage of the Blake Hall. This helps to make our stage productions more professional.

I would like to thank the learners of VP for their passion for their school and the long hours they put into the sporting and cultural activities.  The great majority of our youngsters are “Proudly Victorian” and show this in the way they approach life.  It is understandable that we do have learners who challenge the system and part of our job is working with these teenagers to see where we can make a positive difference in their lives.

My respect for our teachers just keeps on growing.  When faced with all sorts of challenges they continue being prepared to put in extra hours. They care for and approach their jobs with passion, resulting in the school being able to produce the goods.  My sincere thanks go to them and I hope they know how their role in so many learners’ lives is sincerely appreciated.
Lastly, I would like to thank the Governing Body for the guiding role they play in the life of the school.  Schools will only keep growing while there are parents who are prepared to play an active, honest role in developing the school.

Headmaster’s report 2008

The way Victoria Park has experienced 2008 has, to a certain degree, been mirrored by what has happened globally. The economy of the Western world has been hit by uncertainty, changing patterns and an emergence of a new guard. Is this all bad? Uncomfortable, different, nervous . . . yes! All of this is true, but not necessarily bad.

During the course of 2007 and at the beginning of 2008 VP sadly had to say farewell to a number of staff members who have held key positions and fulfilled critical functions in and around the school. We lost a deputy, two experienced HOD’s and a number of promising young teachers. The three senior staff members represent 37% of our departmental top structure. Two of these went on retirement and the rest became assets of the business world. It is understandable that the school was hard-hit by these losses and that those remaining had a tough job maintaining the standards, passion and spirit that we have become accustomed to at Victoria Park. The harsh reality is that there have been no state bulletins allowing us to permanently fill these holes. I must commend the staff for rallying to the cause and for doing a fine holding job, while waiting for the state to allow us to plan for the future. Unfortunately in today’s highly competitive world of education, maintenance of standards is almost the same as standing still.

We also had a change of the guard with respect to the governance of the school. Our Chairman of the Governing Body, Keith Allers, and our treasurer, Braam Muller, also came to the end of their terms of office.

With the pain of change, comes the excitement of new beginnings and progress. We are extremely fortunate to have parents of the calibre of Andre Strydom and Marquis Pretorius to be able to call upon to take up the reigns. Mr Strydom has stepped up to the plate as Chairperson of the Governing Body and Mr Pretorius tackled the job of treasurer. Both have done sterling work for VP and have shown the type of passion and commitment that is both necessary and much appreciated by the VP community. Mr Strydom has brought a hands-on, no nonsense approach to the position and his support of the school and teachers has been worth its weight in gold this year.

I would like to list some of the many highlights of 2008, that are particularly special to me.

Excellent academic performances from our top matriculants. I am expecting outstanding results, especially from our top ten

VP being one of only two Eastern Cape schools in the top twenty in this year’s Life Sciences (Biology) Olympiad

One of our learners being placed fifth in the national Science Olympiad

The success of the school musical, Copacabana

The amazing participation, and quality of performances during our Arts Festival

The huge success of our boys’ and girls’ first hockey teams

The emergence of girls’ soccer at school. This young sport has made huge strides and can now claim to be the top school side in the Eastern Cape

The winning of four schools’ tennis leagues. I am now looking forward to the challenge of playing in the promotion leagues next year

The unbeaten VP first chess team

Outstanding individual swimming results at national level

When looking to the future we have to be bold and not let the economy, changing education systems and toothless education department dictate to us. We will have to strengthen our top management structure, broaden our middle management and attract young teachers of quality. The strength of VP over the last number of years came as a result of having an experienced, motivated management structure leading the way to allow new,

spirited young teachers to assert themselves.

Schools always need new projects to keep people focused and to maintain an air of development and progress. After the success of the new clubhouse, the “Victorian,” VP now needs something new to challenge us. Projects and ideas being debated are an Astroturf, a swimming complex, a sports academy, new computer classes, drama changing rooms and facilities and a new classroom block. All of these are exciting, but all of these will need us to be very bold in the current economic climate that is gripping the world.

In conclusion I would like to thank the VP family for helping making a success of a difficult year.

Mr Mike Vermaak

HEADMASTER’S REPORT ON 2007

Headmaster, Mr Mike Vermaak

2007 has been a year full of new initiatives, new syllabi, new external examining and exciting new developments in and around Victoria Park High.

After many years of dreaming, followed by major planning we have a new clubhouse, “The Victorian”, which was formally opened on 7 June 2007. Special guest, Peter Hollely, regaled us with stories from the past and cleverly linked this with the future of our school at a dignified evening to “wet the roof” of the new heart of the Dave Weinronk sporting complex. The “Victorian” has since hosted many sporting teams, parties, televised Springbok rugby games, reunion groups, steak evenings and seminars. It certainly has added tremendous value to Victoria Park High.

The music department has made rapid strides! This positive growth has resulted in us converting former ablution facilities into an extra band room. An exciting initiative has been the purchase of a set of steel pans. The calypso beat of these unique instruments will soon be livening up our functions and events. The music department has embarked upon the challenge of producing the musical “Copacabana”, a project they are tackling on their own to further promote their subject department.

By the time you read this we would have completed our first externally set Grade 11 examinations. At the time of writing we are a nervous team of educators, trying to predict what is expected of our learners in the new curriculum. This uncertainty has certainly added to the many stresses imposed upon folk during this period of radical change. The introduction of outcomes based education has replaced our old Higher and Standard Grade academic system. In theory, this is definitely a big step forward, but until there is sufficient clarity of standards and syllabi there is bound to be huge challenges.

The public sector strike affected Victoria Park for the first time ever! We did manage to keep the disruptions to a minimum and our learners have easily made up for the few days that we missed, but the relevance of the strike should not be forgotten. Almost all former “Model C” schools are facing unprecedented staff turnovers. This is due to the private sector being able to lure young teachers away from education with offers that easily beat the salary packages that teachers are earning. While this is true, we are not going to be able to maintain the high standards we are accustomed to. I fear for the future of education in South Africa, a developing country that should be doubling its efforts to educate for a brighter future. I trust that there will be a solution, in the near future, that will help us keep our top teachers in education. Ironically, if conditions do improve, there is going to be a problem for Governing Bodies when they try to match the salaries of Governing Body educators with any future increases. This challenge will put a major strain on the pockets of people who are already struggling to make ends meet.

While the politics of education has affected us on a macro level, the school is going about its daily business very successfully. Our proud “Victorians” have excelled academically, reached new sporting highs and enhanced our reputation of being a caring school by contributing to the community. I am blessed to have a uniquely spirited, competent group of passionate teachers. This awesome group of people regularly go the “extra mile” to ensure the long-term success of our young “Victorians”.

I would like to applaud my staff, thank the tireless, caring Governing Body and compliment our learners on what has been another excellent VP year.

MR M. VERMAAK
Principal