Learn more about our rich history and legacy which has been around since 1951...
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From the beggining |
Where we are now |
FRANKLIN JOSHUA, the first principal of Alexander Sinton Secondary School, found it undesirable to have two schools operate under the same name at Central School (also known as Athlone No 2 School).
Central accommodated Std 5s and Std 6s (four classrooms), an initiative that was taken by Alexander Sinton himself. The first principal of Central was Mr H Gordon. Mr E F Doman took over as principal after Gordon served only one quarter of the school year in 1930. The ever-increasing number of pupils at Central led directly to the need of a high school – Alexander Sinton. Alexander Sinton Secondary School has its roots in the Bekoedratoellah Hall in Buckley Avenue and was started in 1951. Alexander Sinton was from Glasgow, Scotland, where he was trained as a teacher. He came to South Africa and taught in the Eastern Cape where he held different teaching posts at different times of his teaching career. (dates could not be established, but it seems Mr Sinton was in South Africa as early as 1900) He accepted a position as a teaching inspector of high schools when he moved to Cape Town. Mr Sinton was deeply involved in schools in the Athlone area and had a deep affinity for Central School, later to become Alexander Sinton Secondary School in Buckely Avenue, Athlone, Cape Town. – Alumnni school magazine 1951-1969 *The term secondary school was favourably and positively used in Great Britain during the life of Mr Sinton. When Mr Sinton died, he left a large sum of money (figures have it at R33 000, 00) for the school to be built in his honour. Franklin Joshua, in his inaugural address in 1970 on the occasion of the opening of the new school in Crawford, “remembered those teachers who pioneered the way: Joseph van Stavel, Michael Bapoo, Christine Joshua and Johannes Williams”. There were conflicting reports as to who the originator of the school’s motto was. (Was it Mr Sinton according to Joshua or the vice-principal, Mr John Lochner, according to Abou Desai)? Vel Primus Vel Cum Primis was suggested and adopted as the school’s motto. Not knowing the enormous success Sinton would achieve, Joshua, in his inaugural address said: “To whatever heights we may strive to in the future, we shall remember with pride our humble beginning.” Sinton soared under his leadership as principal. Joshua also expressed “his deep appreciation to those teachers who made their contribution to the tradition that is associated with Alexander Sinton”: Mr Paul Richards, Miss Monica Jacobus, Mr Abou Desai, Mr Basil Swart, Mr Raymond Leitch, Mr John Lochner, Mr Allen Hendricks, Mrs E Peterson, Mr Arthur Arendse, Mr E Pratt and Mr Harold Hendricks. In the FOREWORD of the Alumni school magazine 1951-1969, Abou Desai writes that the ethos and moving spirit of the school were due to Franklin Joshua. Desai writes further, “he motivated all to work to their fullest potential. In this, he took the lead”. |
Alexander Sinton Secondary School, also known as Alexander Sinton High School, is an English-medium school in Athlone, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa.
The school is located in the Cape Flats, an area designated as non-white under the Group Areas Act during apartheid. The school was involved in the anti-apartheid student uprisings of the 1970s and 1980s. Staff and students at the school made headlines when they barricaded the police into their school in September 1985. The following month, three youths were killed near the school by police officers who opened fire on protesters in the Trojan Horse Incident. It was the first school to be visited by Nelson Mandela after his release from prison. As of 2014, the school has 1,100 pupils, half boys and half girls. The school employs 40 teachers and six non-teaching staff. |
Leaders of our legacy...
Our previous principals: Top left - Mr. F. Joshua; top middle - Mr. K. Desai; top right - Mr. F. Parker; bottom left - Ms. A. Domingo; bottom right - Mr. M. Petersen (currently acting principal)
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