Peterhouse Boys' School

Peterhouse Boys' School (or Peterhouse) is an independent, boarding high school for boys in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe. The school was founded by Fred Snell in 1955 and is located on an estate that is shared with Calderwood Park, a conservation area and game park, outside Marondera.[2] The school is one of the schools under the Peterhouse Group of Schools, the other schools being Peterhouse Girls' School, Springvale House Preparatory School and Peterhouse Nursery School.[2][3] Peterhouse was ranked as one of the Top 10 High Schools in Zimbabwe in 2014.[4]

Peterhouse Boys' School
Peterhouse Coat of Arms
Location
Mashonaland East

Zimbabwe
Coordinates18.198°S 31.624°E / -18.198; 31.624
Information
TypeIndependent, boarding, high school
MottoConditur in Petra
(Latin: It is founded on the Rock)
DenominationAnglican
Patron saint(s)Saint Peter
Founded1955
FounderFred Snell
Sister schoolPeterhouse Girls' School
OversightPeterhouse Group of Schools
RectorJonathan Trafford
FormsI—VI
GenderBoys
Age12 to 18
Number of pupils449 (2016)[1]
Education systemEnglish
Campus typeRural
Houses6
Colour(s)Royal blue and White
        
NicknamePeterhouse Kings
TuitionUS$4,350.00[lower-alpha 1]
Feeder schoolsSpringvale House
Affiliations
AlumniPetreans
Websitewww.peterhouse.co.zw
  1. Term fees, the year has 3 terms.[1]

The Peterhouse Group is led by the Rector, who also has responsibility on a day-to-day basis as Headmaster for Peterhouse Boys' School. The school is a founding member of the Association of Trust Schools (ATS). The Rector is a member of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe (CHISZ) and an international member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) which represents over 250 independent schools in the United Kingdom and worldwide.[2][5][6]

History

In September 1951, Edward Paget, Bishop of Southern Rhodesia, wrote to the Rector of Michaelhouse in Natal, offering him the headship of a school that did not exist. Six months later, Fred Snell started working with Canon Robert Grinham and the Ruzawi School Board toward the creation of an independent senior school.[7] Peterhouse opened in 1955 under the rectorship of Fred Snell with 55 boys and within five years the number had risen to 360 according to plan. Peterhouse was founded as an Anglican boys’ country boarding school.[7] When the school opened in 1955, the major building programme had been completed; the Chapel had been dedicated; the staff were accommodated in houses around the grounds; and the grounds themselves had been developed, with the playing fields spreading across the slope below the school, and beyond them, plantations of gum and pine.[7] During the rectorship of Fred Snell, the first black pupils joined the school.[7] Bruce Fieldsend, who joined Peterhouse at the beginning, succeeded Fred Snell as Rector in 1968. Under Bruce Fieldsend, Peterhouse continued to flourish and in 1976, the school had an enrolment of 389 pupils – the highest it had ever been. In 1972, the Rhodesian Bush War had begun to cast a shadow over the land. In 1976 the enrolment began to drop and by the beginning of 1980, Peterhouse was barely half full.[7]

After Independence, the school began to grow again, and in 1984 Bruce Fieldsend was succeeded by the Reverend Doctor Alan Megahey. Under his rectorship not only did the boys’ school grow to over 500 pupils, but in 1985, Springvale House, a preparatory school for boys and girls, was opened and in 1987 Peterhouse Girls' School started. These two schools are both situated on the site of the old Springvale School which had closed during the war and which was on the other side of the main Harare / Mutare road from the boys’ school. The three schools now occupy a site of 3 000 acres, of which 700 acres are taken up with Gosho Park, Peterhouse’s conservation area and Game Park.[7] In 1994, Mike Bawden succeeded Alan Megahey as rector. In 2002, Jon Calderwood was appointed rector after Bawden returned to England. Calderwood was head of Springvale House from 1985 to 1993 and Head of Peterhouse Girls from 1994 to 2001 before he was rector.[7] He retired as rector at the end of 2012.[7] In 2013 Howard Blackett, formerly headmaster of the Royal Hospital School of Ipswich, was appointed rector.[7] Jonathan Trafford, an old Peterhouse teacher and headmaster, took up the position in January 2020.

Coat of arms

On 19 April 1956, Peterhouse was given its name. Then as Fred Snell recorded, much thought and discussion was put into the choice and design of the "Coat of Arms" for the new school. Its name linked it with Michaelhouse, but its symbols the cock, the cross and the crown honoured St. Peter.[7]

Houses

The boys are organised into six houses named after people who were significant in the history of the school or the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe. They are, in order of founding: Ellis House, Paget House, Grinham House, Malvern House, Founders House, Snell House.

Houses at Peterhouse Boys' School
Houses Named after Year founded
Ellis House Sir Ellis Robins 1954
Paget House Bishop Edward Paget 1956
Grinham House Cannon Robert Grinham 1957
Malvern House Sir Godfrey Huggins (Lord Malvern) 1957
Founders House The founders of Peterhouse 1959
Snell House Fred Snell 1984

Each boy is allocated a house upon enrolment, and he remains a member of that house until he leaves. In addition to the houses being buildings in which the boys reside, they compete on a sporting academic and cultural front.

In the late 1980s an additional house, Tinokura was created to house D Block boys (aged 12–14) in their first year at Peterhouse.

Sport

Sporting activities on offer include athletics, basketball, cricket, golf, hockey, rowing, rugby union, soccer, squash, swimming, triathlon, tennis, volleyball and weight training.[8]

Activities

The cultural activities on offer are: Art Club, Bridge, Chess, Christian Fellowship, Conservation, Dance (both Ballroom and Hip Hop), Debating, Drama, Engineering, Interact Club, Kukura neShungu Club, Leo Club, Music, Photography, Quiz, Social Responsibility, Woodwork.[9]

Peterhouse Boys' School offers the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award to boys in C Block (Form 2) upwards.[10]

Environmental Parks
See also: Gosho Park

The school, for educational and recreational purposes uses Gosho Park, a conservation area named after Patrick Gosho that is owned by the Peterhouse Group which is situated on the Springvale Estate (being adjacent to Peterhouse Girls' School and Springvale House).[11] Geography field trips, Biology research projects and leadership courses are some of the activities that take place in Gosho Park.[11] Calderwood Park, a conservation area opened in 2012 on the Peterhouse Boys' estate is also used by the boys with infrastructural developments in progress.[11]

Chapel

The Peterhouse Boys chapel was built along the lines of Coventry Cathedral in England. The school was named after Peter the apostle.[12]

The foundation stone was laid by the first Archbishop of Central Africa, and one of the school’s founders, Edward Francis Paget, in November 1956. The Chapel was dedicated in November 1958 by the then Bishop of Mashonaland (The Right Reverend Cecil Alderson) in the presence of Archbishops Hughes and Paget.[12][13]

The Chapel seats over 600 and is fitted with an organ; the small pipes in the range were brought into the country by ox wagon in the late 1890s. The full organ was installed in 1966.[12]

Relationship with Peterhouse Girls' School
See also: Peterhouse Girls' School

Peterhouse Girls' School is the sister school of Peterhouse Boys' School. The schools, both owned by the Peterhouse Group, interact in various cultural activities and to a lesser extent in sports. The Fifth Form and Sixth Form are co-educational, with pupils from Peterhouse Girls' having lessons at the boys' school.[14]

List of Rectors
  • Frederick Snell (1955-1967)
  • Bruce Fieldsend (1968-1983)
  • Alan Megahey (1984-1993)
  • Mike Bawden (1994-2001)
  • Jon Calderwood (2002-2012)
  • Howard Blackett (2013-2019)
  • Jonathan Trafford (2020-present)

Alumni

Petrean Society

A Petrean is any pupil who has been a member of the school, normally for a minimum of two years; any person who has been a member of the staff of the school for at least three years; or any person who has been a member of the Executive Committee of the school for at least three years.[3]

Notable alumni
gollark: If you are now *deliberately* looking for stuff, *this is not the case*.
gollark: > i was just clicking around
gollark: You are definitely not randomly/accidentally stalking people at this point.
gollark: ···
gollark: Why do you want my music library, anyway? I can probably send you a copy *somehow* if you have a good reason.]

See also

References
  1. "ATS CHISZ PETERHOUSE BOYS » » Schools Directory". ATS CHISZ. ATS CHISZ. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  2. "Peterhouse Boys School". Peterhouse Boys School. Peterhouse Boys' School. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  3. "Home". The Petrean Society. The Petrean Society. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  4. DarrylYV8 (9 October 2014). "Top 10 High Schools in Zimbabwe". Youth Village Zimbabwe. Youth Village Zimbabwe. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  5. "ATS CHISZ Senior » » Schools Directory". ATS CHISZ. ATS CHISZ. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  6. "Peterhouse - HMC". The Headmasters' & Headmistresses' Conference. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. "History". Peterhouse Boys School. Peterhouse Boys' School. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  8. "Sport". Peterhouse Boys School. Peterhouse Boys' School. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  9. "Culture". Peterhouse Boys' School. Peterhouse Boys' School. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  10. "The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award". Peterhouse Boys' School. Peterhouse Boys' School. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  11. "Environmental Parks". Peterhouse Boys' School. Peterhouse Boys' School. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  12. "Boarding System". Peterhouse Boys' School. Peterhouse Boys' School. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  13. Coates, J M; Kennedy, A. "1980 The First Twenty-Five Years". The Petrean Society. The Petrean Society. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  14. "Peterhouse Girls". Peterhouse Boys' School. Peterhouse Boys' School. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
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