Durban Girls' College
Durban Girls' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls, with weekly boarding facilities for high school pupils, located on the Berea, overlooking the city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
| Durban Girls' College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
  Durban Girls' College | |
| , South Africa | |
| Coordinates | 29°50′05″S 31°00′26″E |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, boarding |
| Motto | Latin: Nisi Dominus Frustra (Without God, all is in vain) |
| Established | 1877 |
| Locale | Urban |
| Executive Headmistress | Marianne Bailey |
| Head of High School | Heather Goedeke |
| Head of Senior Primary | Wendy Laatz |
| Head of Junior Primary | Carol-Anne Conradie |
| Grades | 00 - 12 |
| Number of students | 800 girls |
| School color(s) | Bottle green and white |
| Exam board | IEB |
| Website | www |
History
Durban Girls’ College was founded in 1877 as the Durban Young Ladies’ Collegiate Institution by a group of six Durban Commissioners and Protestant Clergy under the leadership of J F Churchill. The founders are remembered in a service each year, and the six school houses bear their names – Churchill, Cottam, Greenacre, Hunter, Palmer and Rutherford. In 1905, college moved to Musgrave Road, its present site, which was donated by Sir Benjamin Greenacre.
Academics
The class of 2018 (84 girls) achieved outstanding results:
100% Bachelor Degree pass rate which will allow all of the girls to pursue tertiary studies in 2019 and beyond. Three candidates were placed on the IEB List of Outstanding Achievers; they are among 61 pupils from 41 schools nationally. In addition DGC had 16 candidates who achieved results that placed them in the top 1% of the IEB candidates nationally in individual subjects.
Exceptional achievements
- 5 pupils achieved 8 distinctions
- 8 pupils achieved 7 distinctions
- 8 pupils achieved 6 distinctions
- 9 pupils achieved 5 distinctions
- 15 pupils achieved 4 distinctions
Notable alumnae
- Lara Logan, television journalist for CBS News
- Claire Palley, academic and lawyer
- Professor Elizabeth Sneddon, playwright
- Khanyi Dhlomo,[1] South African TV Host and the founder and CEO of Ndalo Media and Ndalo Luxury Ventures
- Kirsten Goss[2] jewellery designer
- Anuschka Coovadia,[3][4] - head of Healthcare for Africa at KPMG
- Dr Anne Wesley - head girl, 1949 - devoted her life to the good of children in KwaZulu-Natal
- Elaine Potter[5] - investigative journalist and co-founder, with her husband David E. Potter, of the Potter Foundation
- Dr Julia Ambler - co-founder of Umdiduzi Hospice Care for Children
- Gaynor Young - actress
- June Drummond - author of crime novels
- Renée Schuurman- tennis player
- Prof Lynette Denny[6] - medical doctor and cancer researcher
Executive Heads
| # | Years | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1877-1885 | Miss Martha Cheetham |
| 2 | 1885-1892 | Miss Mary Campbell |
| 3 | 1893-1896 | Miss Margaret Robertson |
| 4 | 1896-1924 | Miss Ellen Juana Moore-Smith |
| 5 | 1924-1932 | Miss Harriet Robinson |
| 6 | 1933-1937 | Miss Mary Calway |
| 7 | 1937-1956 | Miss Elizabeth Middleton |
| 8 | 1957-1977 | Miss Margaret Ella Christison |
| 9 | 1978-1984 | Mrs Marion Harwood |
| 10 | 1984-1988 | Dr Pat Hiddleston |
| 11 | 1989-2002 | Mrs Gwen Williams |
| 12 | 2003-2012 | Mr Ken Elliott |
| 13 | 2013-2016 | Mr Thomas Hagspihl |
| 14 | 2017-current | Mrs Marianne Bailey |
College anthem
The college anthem is All Hail the College Galleon, composed by old girl, June Drummond in 1940.[7]
References
- Durban Girls College Promotional Video circa 1995 on YouTube
- "WINNER: Entrepreneur of the Year: Kirsten Goss". The South African. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- "Head of Healthcare for Africa at KPMG". KPMG. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- "Anuschka Coovadia, Class of 1994". dgc.co.za. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- "Home - The David and Elaine Potter Foundation". potterfoundation.com. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- "CANSA Awards the 2015 Oettle Memorial Award to Prof Lynette Denny". CANSA: The Cancer Association of South Africa. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- "Death of June Drummond". artsmart.co.za. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2018.