Jeppe High School for Boys

St. Michael's College was the predecessor of all the Jeppe Schools. This was an Anglican private school on the corner of Commissioner and Crowns Street in Fairview. There were 25 students when the school first opened. The headmaster of the school was Rev. H B Sidwell. His successor was Rev. George Perry, in 1891.[1]

The buildings of the college and the site on which its grounds lay were bought by the Witwatersrand Council for education, in 1896, as the school was struggling to function. The school was re-opened, in April 1897, by the council as Jeppestown Grammar School. 15 boys enrolled into the school and the first headmaster of the school was Mr. H Hardwick. However, school financial issues forced the council to reduce its disbursement. As a result, Mr. Hardwick and the rest of the school's staff were given notice. On 1 October 1898, a group of Jeppestown parents bought the school from the council for £2,500. The staff had been replaced, but Mr. Hardwick remained the headmaster of the school.[1]

In 1899, at the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War, with the number of students slowly decreasing, the school was forced to close down. Mr. Harwick left in September 1899.[1]

The school re-opened, after the war, as Jeppestown High School for Girls and Boys using land donated by Sir Julius Jeppe.[1] It was opened in the same building of the Grammar School, and was one of the first co-educational schools, opened by the Transvaal Education Department (T.E.D). The precise date of the re-opening is unknown, however it is believed to have been during the first quarter of the year 1902, as a letter sent to the Department of Education by the school, about the teachers being unwilling to teach under the conditions of an unfinished building as well as there not being enough space for the number of children, was sent on 9 April of that year.[1]

The Parents' Committee experienced financial hardships at the same time as the school's construction. In September 1902, the Education Department was presented with an ultimatum, which stated that either they purchase the premises or vacate it, by October that year. The Public Works Department advised that purchase be made, until a new school building could be constructed.[1]

The new headmaster of the school, in 1902, was Mr. C D Hope. He remained headmaster until he left in 1904 to found a fellow "Milner School", Potchefstroom High School for Boys. He was succeeded by Mr. J H Payne, who became a staff member in 1902 and remained headmaster until his death, in 1917, during his service in the First World War (170 boys and staff members lost their lives to the border conflicts and two World Wars).[1] Mr. Payne acquired the building that the Jeppe Boys students currently occupy.[2]

By 1912 the new school's grounds were not sufficient enough for the accumulating number of pupils at the school. Owing to the boys out-numbering the girls, and pressure from the Governing Body of the school, who were against the co-educational system of the school, it was decided that the girls would be moved to other premises.[3] The split would occur in 1919.[4]^:339

When Johannesburg celebrated its centenary, in 1986, the main building of Jeppe High School for Boys, as well as the First World War Memorial, were declared national monuments.[1]

Headmaster | Principal

• Mr. Dale Jackson

A dome built near the main entrance of the school is one of the prominent facades of the school building. One side of the dome is used for "recruiting" and the other as the school museum. Alongside the dome can be found the names of boys who died during the war while still attending the school. The dome also features a plinth with the names of staff and pupils who lost their lives in The Great War. Mr. James Humphrey Allen Payne, who was a headmaster at the school, died of a fever in 1917 while serving in the war. The second hall in the school is named after him.

When the school celebrated its centenary in 1986, the First World War Memorial, which was opened by field Marshal Jan Smuts, was declared a national monument.[5]

The main gates to the school are dedicated to FWB von Linsingen and AS Dashwood who were both killed in action in Bardia on 31 December 1941.

Two World War II plaques are situated in the foyer of the school's main hall. These contain the names of Jeppe pupils who died in action while still attending the school.

There have been a number of different Old Boy Associations over the years at Jeppe High School for Boys. However, over time they had become defunct, in 2009 the Jeppe High School for Boys Association (JBA) was officially formed.

The stated aims of the JBA are as follows:

• To communicate with Old Boys and members of the Jeppe family through monthly newsletters and the JBA website as to the activities, achievements, developments and progress of the School.
• To facilitate continued interaction amongst the Old Boy network by assisting with reunions and various fundraising events.
• To become the “business advisory” arm of the School by acting as a conduit for the School to interact with the many areas of business acumen and expertise which exist within the Jeppe family.
• To contribute to the continued high standards of academic, sporting and cultural performances at the School and the high levels of discipline and behaviour by raising finances to support the various capital projects at the School.
• To give underprivileged and financially disadvantaged scholars, of all races, the opportunity to attend Jeppe through the establishment and maintenance of the various Scholarship Funds.[6]

Jeppe Boys write the Gauteng Department of Education preliminarily examinations and the Department of Education, South Africa final examination via the FET (Further Education Training) board. They are also offered the opportunity to partake in Advanced Programme mathematics, which is written separately under the IEB.

Jake White Scholarship Fund - The Jake White Scholarship, named after Jake White who was a pupil at the school from Grade 8 to Grade 12, aims to brand all sports scholarships at the school under this fund.[7]

White, who is a former Springbok and IRB World Cup Winning Coach, and Jeppe old boy, was a prominent figure in the Springboks' victory in 2007 during the Rugby World Cup.[7]

Theo Jackson Scholarship Fund - The Theo Jackson Scholarship Fund, established by Dale and Craig Jackson in 2006 in honour of their late father, Theo Jackson, is a separate scholarship within the JBA association. The scholarship aims to grant scholarships to boys of all races and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Recipients of the scholarship are not chosen based on academic or sporting excellence but rather on strength of character and the will to succeed despite a disadvantaged background.[8]

100 Club - The 100 Club, formed in 2004, aims to improve sports, academics, facilities and infrastructure at Jeppe Boys through donations from Jeppe old Boys.[9]

Swimming at Jeppe High School for Boys.

Listed alphabetically according to season

Jeppe Boys write the Gauteng Department of Education preliminarily examinations and the Department of Education, South Africa final examination via the FET (Further Education Training) board.

Jeppe Boys has stone buildings with a prominent facade. The Payne Hall, a stone building with a largely wooden interior, has been declared a national monument. Within the school is another national monument; a war memorial dedicated to those who died in the First World War.[10]

• Herman Charles Bosman (1905–1951), writer and journalist
• Jock Cameron (1905–1935), South African international wicket-keeper[11]
• Bob Catterall (1900–1961), South African Test cricketer[12]
• Jim Christy (1904–1971), South African international opening batsman[13]
• James Dalton (born 1972), Springbok hooker[14]
• Norman Gordon,(1911-2014) South African cricketer who participated in the famous "timeless test".[15]
• Morgan Gould (born 1983), soccer player
• Daryl Impey (born 1984), South African professional road cyclist[16]
• Samuel Kinkead (1897–1928), air ace and Schneider Trophy pilot
• Henry John May (1903–1995), author,[17] noted South African constitutional lawyer,[18] and Queen's Counsel
• Brian Mitchell (born 1961), World Junior Lightweight Champion Boxer[19]
• Brent Moyle (born 1973), Springbok prop forward
• Bob Hepple (1934 -2015), legal adviser to Nelson Mandela in his trial for incitement in 1962.
• Herbert Cecil Pugh (1898–1941), clergyman and George Cross recipient[20]
• Wilf Rosenberg (born 1934) Springbok outside centre[21]
• Harry Schwarz (1924–2010), lawyer, politician, Ambassador to United States and anti-apartheid leader
• Des Sinclair (1927–1996), Springbok inside centre[22]
• Jake White (born 1963), World Cup (2007) winning Springbok coach, who also taught at the school
• Fhatuwani 'Rasta' Rasivhenge (born 1986) International Rugby Board referee
• S'busiso Romeo Nkosi (born 1996), Springbok winger
• Wandisile Simelane (1998), former Junior bok. Lions center
• Tyrone Green (1998), former Junior bok. Lions Utility back
• Hacjivah Dayimani (1997). Lions Flanker
• Alan Kourie (born 30 July 1951) in Johannesburg. Played Cricket for South Africa in 16 unofficial Tests

• Jeppe High School for Boys
• Jeppe High School for Girls