Pretoria - Once you have been bitten by the magic of Pretoria Boys High School it never leaves you.
These are the sentiments of Anthony Richard Wilkes, one of 14 former Pretoria Boys High School pupils who gathered to reminisce about their time at the institution back in 1952.
Wilkes, who was a member of the class of 1946, said he first heard of the school after a primary school teacher told his class of a musical they would be hosting in 1939.
He said although the tickets were expensive as they cost 12 shillings each, three of his classmates managed to convince their parents to buy tickets for them to attend.
“I was absolutely enthralled and when we came in the gate I couldn’t believe the size of the fields. I was dumbstruck as I was only 11 years old at the time.
“When I saw the actual school, it was so big, plus it had a hall which had a stage and I simply told myself this is the school I want to go to.”
He said he eventually joined the school in 1941 at the height of World War II but found that due to challenges they had to rely on Johannesburg schools to donate additional sporting equipment to them.
Wilkes said this was the case, especially after pupils from an Afrikaans school petrol-bombed the school pavilion where their sporting gear was kept.
“It was a sad moment for us as that pavilion had been built by some of the learners and the teachers at the school. It was a difficult period for us as all our sporting gear and equipment like cricket bats and mats were burned down to nothing.”
During this time he said the learners also had to learn how to operate radios, conduct drills, and shoot as some of the senior boys had to leave school and would go straight into the army.
Robin Theodore Hulse, of the class of 1947, said he came from St Peters Hostel at the age of 15, and recalled how overwhelmed he felt when he joined the school as he had come from a farm school.
Hulse said during his time the boys were taught farming as it was assumed that they would go into farming after school, while girls were left at home with their mothers.
He added that one thing he appreciated about being at the school was its culture as it had enabled many of them to still remain friends long after their school days had ended.
Former headmaster Bill Schroder, who steered the school between 1990 and 2009, said he felt privileged to have been able to be part of the school which he regarded as the best school in the world.
Schroder said for him being able to lead the school through the transformation from 1992 up to 1994 was important, as they ended up creating pre-form 1 classes of boys from the township they had been able to identify.
“When you’ve got 1 500 young men filled with testosterone you can’t be too soft, you’ve got to be tough but as long as they understand why you’re being tough you establish a good relationship with them,” he said.
Although the school has had its fair share of many memorable students pass through its gates such as former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, Springbok captain John Smit, 10 judges, top musicians, and athletes, Schroder said he was of the view that the school’s success was more due to the ordinary pupils.
“The top kids are a bonus but the school’s success is based on its ordinary boys. It’s what you do with the ordinary guys who account for 95% that matters.”
The old boys attended the school assembly, which most remembered fondly during their time at the school before singing their school anthem sporting their blazers and school ties.
Pretoria News