Jeppe High School for Boys

Jeppe High School for Boys is a public English medium high school for boys in Kensington, a suburb of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is one of the 23 Milner Schools, and its sister school is Jeppe High School for Girls.

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Jeppe High School for Boys
Jeppe High School for Boys main entrance
Address
Good Hope & Roberts Avenue Kensington, Gauteng 2101 South Africa
Coordinates	26°12′0″S 28°5′58″E / -26.20000; 28.09944][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"},"html":"Coordinates: </templatestyles>\"}' data-mw='{\"name\":\"templatestyles\",\"attrs\":{\"src\":\"Module:Coordinates/styles.css\"},\"body\":{\"extsrc\":\"\"}}'/>26°12′0″S 28°5′58″E / 26.20000°S 28.09944°E / -26.20000; 28.09944"}">
Information
School type	All-boys public school
Motto	"Forti Nihil Difficilius" (Nothing is too difficult for the brave)
Religious affiliation(s)	Christianity not officially affiliated with any religion
Established	1890; 134 years ago (1890)
Founder	Sir Julius Jeppe
Sister school	Jeppe High School for Girls
School board	National Senior Certificate
School district	D9.
School number	GDE No. 130633
Headmaster	Mr Dale Jackson
Grades	8–12
Gender	Male Non-binary
Number of students	1062 boys
Language	English
Schedule	08:00 - 14:20
Campus	Urban Campus
Campus type	Suburban
Colour(s)	Black   Gold   White
Slogan	Turning Black and White into Gold
Song	[Jeppe School Song]
Mascot	Zebra
Nickname	Jeppe
Rivals	King Edward VII School Parktown Boys' High School Pretoria Boys High School St Benedict's College, Bedfordview St John's College, Johannesburg
Accreditation	Gauteng Department of Education
School fees	R53 200.00
Affiliation	International Boys' Schools Coalition
Alumni	Jeppe Old Boys
Dayboy Houses	Duiker, Eland, Impala, Koodoo, Roan
Boarding Houses	Oribi, Tsessebe, Sable,Droste
Website	www.jeppeboys.co.za

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The school's motto is the Latin Forti nihil difficilius, meaning "Nothing is too difficult for the brave". Jeppe High School for Boys is the oldest known school in Johannesburg.

St. Michael's College was the predecessor of all the Jeppe Schools. This was an Anglican private school on the corner of Commissioner and Crowns Street in Fairview. There were 25 students when the school first opened in 1890.^[1] The headmaster of the school was Rev. H B Sidwell. His successor was Rev. George Perry, in 1891.^[2]

The buildings of the college and the site on which its grounds lay were bought by the Witwatersrand Council for education, in 1896, as the school was struggling to function. The school was re-opened, in April 1897, by the council as Jeppestown Grammar School.^[1] Fifteen boys enrolled into the school and the first headmaster of the school was Mr. H Hardwick. However, school financial issues forced the council to reduce its disbursement. As a result, Mr. Hardwick and the rest of the school's staff were given notice. On 1 October 1898, a group of Jeppestown parents bought the school from the council for £2,500. The staff had been replaced, but Mr. Hardwick remained the headmaster of the school.^[2]

In 1899, at the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War, with the number of students slowly decreasing, the school was forced to close down. Mr. Hardwick left in September 1899.^[2]

The school re-opened, after the war, as Jeppestown High School for Girls and Boys using land donated by Sir Julius Jeppe.^[2] It was opened in the same building of the Grammar School, and was one of the first co-educational schools, opened by the Transvaal Education Department (T.E.D). The precise date of the re-opening is unknown, however it is believed to have been during the first quarter of the year 1902, as a letter sent to the Department of Education by the school, about the teachers being unwilling to teach under the conditions of an unfinished building as well as there not being enough space for the number of children, was sent on 9 April of that year.^[2]

The Parents' Committee experienced financial hardships at the same time as the school's construction. In September 1902, the Education Department was presented with an ultimatum, which stated that either they purchase the premises or vacate it, by October that year. The Public Works Department advised that purchase be made, until a new school building could be constructed.^[2]

The new headmaster of the school, in 1902, was Mr. C D Hope. He remained headmaster until he left in 1904 to found a fellow "Milner School", Potchefstroom High School for Boys. He was succeeded by Mr. J H Payne, who became a staff member in 1902 and remained headmaster until his death, in 1917, during his service in the First World War (170 boys and staff members died in the border conflicts and two World Wars).^[2] Mr. Payne acquired the building that the Jeppe Boys students currently occupy.^[3]

By 1912 the new school's grounds were insufficient for the growing number of pupils at the school. Owing to the boys out-numbering the girls, and pressure from the Governing Body of the school, who were against the co-educational system of the school, it was decided that the girls would be moved to other premises.^[4] The split would occur in 1919.^[5]: 339

When Johannesburg celebrated its centenary, in 1986, the main building of Jeppe High School for Boys, as well as the First World War Memorial, were declared national monuments.^[2]

Headmaster | Principal

• Mr. Dale Jackson

A dome built near the main entrance of the school is one of the prominent facades of the school building. One side of the dome is used for "recruiting" and the other as the school museum. Alongside the dome can be found the names of boys who died during the war while still attending the school. The dome also features a plinth with the names of staff and pupils who were killed in The Great War. Mr. James Humphrey Allen Payne, who was a headmaster at the school, died of a fever in 1917 while serving in the war. The second hall in the school is named after him.

When the school celebrated its centenary in 1986, the First World War Memorial, which was opened by field Marshal Jan Smuts, was declared a national monument.^[6]

The main gates to the school are dedicated to FWB von Linsingen and AS Dashwood who were both killed in action in Bardia on 31 December 1941.

Two World War II plaques are situated in the foyer of the school's main hall. These contain the names of Jeppe pupils who died in action while still attending the school.

There have been a number of different Old Boy Associations over the years at Jeppe High School for Boys. However, over time they had become defunct, in 2009 the Jeppe High School for Boys Association (JBA) was officially formed.

The stated aims of the JBA are as follows:

• To communicate with Old Boys and members of the Jeppe family through monthly newsletters and the JBA website as to the activities, achievements, developments and progress of the School.
• To facilitate continued interaction amongst the Old Boy network by assisting with reunions and various fundraising events.
• To become the “business advisory” arm of the School by acting as a conduit for the School to interact with the many areas of business acumen and expertise which exist within the Jeppe family.
• To contribute to the continued high standards of academic, sporting and cultural performances at the School and the high levels of discipline and behaviour by raising finances to support the various capital projects at the School.
• To give underprivileged and financially disadvantaged scholars, of all races, the opportunity to attend Jeppe through the establishment and maintenance of the various Scholarship Funds.^[7]

Jeppe Boys write the Gauteng Department of Education preliminarily examinations and the Department of Education, South Africa final examination via the FET (Further Education Training) board. They are also offered the opportunity to partake in Advanced Programme mathematics, which is written separately under the IEB.

Jake White Scholarship Fund - The Jake White Scholarship, named after Jake White who was a pupil at the school from Grade 8 to Grade 12, aims to brand all sports scholarships at the school under this fund.^[8]

White, who is a former Springbok and IRB World Cup Winning Coach, and Jeppe old boy, was a prominent figure in the Springboks' victory in 2007 during the Rugby World Cup.^[8]

Theo Jackson Scholarship Fund - The Theo Jackson Scholarship Fund, established by Dale and Craig Jackson in 2006 in honour of their late father, Theo Jackson, is a separate scholarship within the JBA association. The scholarship aims to grant scholarships to boys of all races and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Recipients of the scholarship are not chosen based on academic or sporting excellence but rather on strength of character and the will to succeed despite a disadvantaged background.^[9]

100 Club - The 100 Club, formed in 2004, aims to improve sports, academics, facilities and infrastructure at Jeppe Boys through donations from Jeppe old Boys.^[10]

Listed alphabetically according to season

Jeppe Boys write the Gauteng Department of Education preliminarily examinations and the Department of Education, South Africa final examination via the FET (Further Education Training) board.

Jeppe Boys has stone buildings with a prominent facade. The Payne Hall, a stone building with a largely wooden interior, has been declared a national monument. Within the school is another national monument; a war memorial dedicated to those who died in the First World War.^[11]

• Herman Charles Bosman (1905–1951), writer and journalist
• Bob Hepple (1934–2015), legal adviser to Nelson Mandela in his trial for incitement in 1962
• Samuel Kinkead (1897–1928), air ace and Schneider Trophy pilot
• Joel Mandelstam (1919–2008), British microbiologist
• Henry John May (1903–1995), author,^[12] noted South African constitutional lawyer,^[13] and Queen's Counsel
• Cecil Pugh, GC (1898–1941), clergyman and George Cross recipient^[14]
• Marius Schoon (1937–1999), anti-apartheid activist
• Harry Schwarz (1924–2010), lawyer, politician, South African Ambassador to the United States and anti-apartheid leader
• Garth Shelton (1956), Author and Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand.