ALIWAL NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
School Profile
We profile Aliwal North High School – Hoërskool Aliwal-Noord.
Aliwal North
The town of Aliwal North was established by Sir Harry Smith, Governor of the Cape Colony, in 1849. He named the town after one of his big battles in India.
Aliwal North is situated on the banks of the Orange River and originally founded on the farm Buffelsvlei. The buffalo still plays such an integral part in the history of both the Primary and High Schools that it is part of the badges of the schools and the rugby 1st team also calls themselves the “Buffels” (Buffaloes).
The town is known for its hot springs and thousands of people visit Aliwal North solely for the healing waters of the springs. As a result of that Aliwal North can be regarded as a holiday destination, a town that people use as a sleep-over place on their way to the sea. Holiday accommodation is no problem in Aliwal North and is high on the list of its sources of income.
Aliwal North is at this stage still a growing town, unlike many of its neighbouring towns and it has a healthy business sector.
School
The first teacher in Aliwal North was appointed in 1850, but it was only in 1871 that the Aliwal North Public School was started with Mr Postma as the principal. In 1884 the Public School amalgamated with the Collegiate School for Girls of Miss Rittman. In 1899 the name of the Public School was changed to the Aliwal North High School.
As a result of growing numbers it was decided to separate the primary and secondary sections of the High School and in 1924 the High School occupied its new premises. Originally the High School had 119 pupils with nine staff members. In 1974 the school was enlarged and a new hall was added.
Today the Aliwal North High School has 510 pupils and a staff of 20 teachers. It has two rugby fields, two hockey fields, two netball courts and four tennis courts. The school also introduced soccer a few years ago and has two boys teams and a girls team in the field. We also give boys the opportunity to participate in both rugby and soccer.
Rugby
Rugby plays a very important role in the proud history of the Aliwal North High School. The two Osler brothers, Bennie and Stanley, spent some time in the High School before 1924 and two more Springboks, Dawie Ackerman and Leon Vogel, also attented the Aliwal North High School. Ackerman's father was the mator of Aliwal North. The test referee Alec van der Horst is also an Old Boy of the school.
Since 1914 the North Eastern Districts schools competed for a shield, donated by the North Eastern Districts Football Union. The list of winning schools in the past makes interesting reading and includes the High Schools of Steynsburg, Molteno, Venterstad, Lady Grey, Jamestown, Burgersdorp and Aliwal North. The depopulation of the platteland, however, has resulted in only Burgersdorp and Aliwal North competing for the shield today.
Aliwal North High School and Burgersdorp High School still compete fiercely for the honours. The traditional two-match interschools per year has been replaced with a single encounter in the second week in August. Needless to say both towns come to a standstill as far as other activities are concerned for that day.
Aliwal North used to be part of the old North Eastern Cape Province at Craven Week, but since 1996 the school has joined Border.
Motto
The motto of the Aliwal North High School is Audentior Ito, meaning “Go more boldly.”
School information:
E-mail address: admin@aliwalhighschool.co.za
Postal address: P.O. Box 214, Aliwal North, 9750
Telephone: 051-6332073
Fax: 051-6341669
