Plumtree School

Plumtree School

Ad Definitum Finem (Latin for To a definite end)
Location
Plumtree, Matabeleland
Zimbabwe
Information
Type Private, boarding
Established 1902
Acting headmaster C. Hepburn
Pupils 500 (approx.)

Plumtree School is a boarding school for boys and girls in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe on the border with Botswana. Founded in 1902 by a railway mission, Plumtree School boards 500+ pupils. Recently the school announced it will start enrolling girls as of January 2016.

Historical background

In 1897 a siding on the railway line between Mafeking and Bulawayo was named Plumtree. It lies on the watershed of the Western Matabeleland Highveld at an altitude of 1389 metres 100 kilometres from Bulawayo. During that time, the construction of the Cape-to-Cairo railway was underway and around 1902 the railway had just come through what was then the Bechuanaland Border.

The school was founded by the Railway Mission largely to cater for the children of the employees of the old Cape Government Railways at work on the Cape-to-Cairo railway who were resident alongside the line between Mafeking and Bulawayo. The first classes were held in a rondavel in the garden of Mr. And Mrs. S. J. Smith whose nine children formed the nucleus of the student body. Subsequently classes were moved to the dining room of the Plumtree Hotel which doubled as the Station Refreshment room. A little later a large room was made available in the customs house.

In 1902 the school moved to the present site. The original 5-acre (20,000 m2) plot was steadily extended so that the school now occupies a one square kilometre site bordering on Plumtree village.


Houses

Gaul House

The school is at the edge of Plumtree. It is divided into houses:

and a boarding hall Hammond Hall (1976)

"Tom Sawyer" 2001
1st XV Rugby on Kabot Field

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jonty Winch (1983), Cricket's Rich Heritage: a History of Rhodesian and Zimbabwean Cricket 1890-1982, Bulawayo: Books of Zimbabwe, p. 200-201
  2. ↑ I.P. Maclaren, ed. (1981), Some Renowned Rhodesian Senior Schools 1892 - 1979, Bulawayo: Books of Zimbabwe, p. 219

External links


Coordinates: 20°29′11″S 27°48′35″E / 20.4864°S 27.8098°E / -20.4864; 27.8098

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