Catholic
Schools Office
Archdiocese
of Pretoria and
Diocese of Johannesburg
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Catholic
Schools Office |
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Education
with heart that
Telephone: 011 487 9000
Physical
Fees
Brief History For
the bulk of its history, “Marist Obs” was an all-boys all-white
school that provided a high-quality academic and sporting education.
In the 1930s there was such a large Jewish enrolment that a rabbi
came every Friday to give classes. In the 1950s and ’60s the
school welcomed Chinese pupils although this was not approved of by
the government. From
1976 the school was led by Brother Neil McGurk, who had an
inspirational vision of what education could be in By
1984 the political crisis in the country was catastrophic. Leaders
of the uprising asked the Church for assistance with the education
of township youngsters. Other black families sought a stable
education for their children, away from the troubled townships. And
so Sacred Heart began a period of profound change. A Student
Representative Council, which involved students as responsible
school leaders, replaced the discredited prefect system, which was
seen as an extension of the principal’s authority. The
existing methodology of History, Geography and several other
subjects did not challenge students to critically question social
structures. A new integrated skills-based curriculum was introduced.
It accommodated students from varying language and educational
backgrounds in the same classroom and related classroom learning to
the real life experience of the students. The
school fought long and hard to discontinue cadets, seen as
contributing to the military culture prevalent in white society at
the time. The
government introduced a quota system whereby the number of black
students had to be limited if schools were to retain their financial
subsidy. Sacred Heart ignored the quota, but the state never stopped
the subsidy, fearing the political embarrassment that would result. Because
of its educational and political role in the 1980s, Sacred Heart was
favoured by many returning exiles after the unbanning of the ANC in
1990. The old Holy Family campus in Yeoville was transformed into a
community school that would be available to returning exiles. This
development, coupled with the expansion of the College, led to the
building of new classrooms and a community centre with indoor sports
facilities. Sacred
Heart was a founder member of the Independent Examinations Board (IEB)
when the Joint Matriculation Board closed in the late 1980s. The
canonisation of St Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist
Brothers, in 1999 saw a re-examination and resurgence of the
school’s Marist ethos. What
does Sacred Heart look like today? It is a microcosm of the South
African “rainbow nation”. The school’s Feast Day is celebrated
with a Catholic Mass in which all children participate, and may
feature traditional African liturgical dance, yet the Hindu
“Festival of Lights” is also celebrated with ritual dancing in
the sanctuary of the chapel by Hindu students and attendance by all.
One
doubts that the good Brothers of 1889 foresaw all these outcomes,
but it is likely they would be well pleased if they could see the
school today. Motto Current enrolment Subjects
offered for Grade 12 (IEB examination) Facilities Extra-murals Head
of College Postal Address Fax E-mail:
shc@sacredheart.co.za Website: http://www.sacredheart.co.za
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 Regions         
Schools in the Johannesburg East region    
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