Gardens Commercial High School
Gardens Commercial High School | |
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Address | |
Paddock Avenue, Gardens , | |
Coordinates | 33°55′49″S 18°24′56″E / 33.93028°S 18.41556°E |
Information | |
Type | Public school |
Motto | Floreat - Flourish |
Established | 1961 |
School district | District 9 |
School number | 021 465 1236 |
Principal | Mr Dylan Tommy |
Grades | 8–12 |
Gender | Boys & Girls |
Age | 14 to 19 |
Number of students | 590 pupils |
Language | English |
Schedule | 07:30 - 15:00 |
Campus | Urban Campus |
Campus type | Suburban |
Colour(s) | Blue Gold White |
Nickname | The Smurfs |
Rival | Cape Town High School Sea Point High School |
Accreditation | Western Cape Education Department |
Website | www.gardenshigh.co.za |
Gardens Commercial High School is a coeducational inner city
History
Gardens Commercial High School is a fine mixture of the old and the new. The five original houses which still form parts of the school buildings were built in 1882 and were used as University of Cape Town residences during the 1920s. Since then they have housed a private hotel, the offices of the Provincial Administration (1939–1944) and the offices of the Department of Inland Revenue and the Rent Control Board (1944–1967).
In 1967 the demolition of Avenue Terrace - as the buildings were then known – was planned. In its stead a new school would be built to house the pupils from the Day School of Commerce (est. 1961) which, until then, had been a department of the Cape Technical College. These plans, however, were shelved and the original buildings were adapted for use as a school.
In 1968 the school came under the jurisdiction of the Cape Education Department and a year later it was renamed Gardens Commercial High School. The Avenue Terrace buildings survived intact, a second time, when demolition plans were again mooted.
When Louis Karol Architects were commissioned in 1976 to build the new school, their decision to incorporate Avenue Terrace finally guaranteed the survival of these buildings. The intriguing blend of old and new in this design earned the architects an Award of Merit from the Institute of South African Architects.
In 1984 - two years before the school's silver anniversary - the Twistniet Sports Complex was opened in Upper Orange Street. It offered facilities for hockey, tennis, basketball, netball and athletics.
The school is proud of its historic links with the city of
Sport & Culture
Learners participate in at least one extramural activity throughout the year. The following activities are offered:
- Argus Quizz
- Athletics
- Beauty Therapy
- Book Club
- Bowls
- Chess
- Dancing
- Drama
- E-gaming
- Fitness Club
- Interact
- Inter-Faith
- Journaling
- Netball
- Soccer
- Touch Rugby
- Website committee
- Volleyball