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Eagle School

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Eagle School was an independent , preparatory boarding school for boys aged 7 to 14 years situated in the Vumba Mountains near Umtali, Rhodesia (now Mutare , Zimbabwe ).

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47-519: The school was founded in 1948 and closed in 1976. The remaining pupils were then integrated into Springvale School . In his 2006 memoir, journalist and human rights activist Geoffrey Nyarota described the school as a "prestigious institution for wealthy white boys". Eagle was one of the nine founding members of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe (CHISZ) as it was formed in

94-681: A chapel and a school of its own. In 1979 Mr. John Hammond was the chairman of the Springvale board and also the chairman of St Philip's School in Guruve . This school, run by the Anglican Diocese, was set in the heart of one of the most troubled areas during the war years and the buildings were burned down during a raid. John Hammond arranged for the St Philip's pupils to move into the then vacant Springvale premises and January 1980 saw

141-485: A complete change of pupils and teaching staff. The Beit Trust and the Anglican Diocese provided finance to pay maintenance and caretaking staff. Peter Bradshaw, who had been a teacher at Springvale School, became the liaison link between the remaining Board and Patrick Gosho, paying the ground staff and assisting whenever he could with maintenance and problem solving. In December 1981, the Springvale Board held

188-574: A meeting to discuss the reopening of the school and the logistics involved. Proper written notice had been given to St Philip's by the Chairman of the Springvale Board before June 1981 to end the lease on December 31, 1982, but unfortunately, in the words of the then Bishop of Mashonaland, the Right Rev'd Peter Hatendi , who later assumed personal responsibility for St Philip's, "the St Philip's board of governors did very little about it and they accepted

235-520: A music room was built in memory of Mark Megahey, the late son of former Peterhouse Rector, Dr Alan Megahey. In 1994, Jon Calderwood became the head of Peterhouse Girls' School and was replaced by Graham Peebles as the head of Springvale House. In 1994-1995, the Art and Computer Centre was built through the efforts of the Parents and Teachers Association, and in 1996–1997, the dining hall was built. Through

282-546: A new intake in January 1982". Problems had arisen in the meantime. The chairman, John Hammond, suffered a heart attack and had to resign. The new board of St Philip's built a day school in Guruve, thus leaving the boarders with nowhere to go and the headmaster at the Springvale arm of St Philip's had admitted Form I and Form II pupils, in contravention of the terms of the lease. Although the Springvale board had kept their side of

329-544: A preparatory school for boys in Vumba . Eagle School was faced with closure due to the war and the drop in students and as a result the 70 remaining pupils were integrated into Springvale School in the second term of 1976. Despite the influx from Eagle, Springvale was ever prey to the external influences of the political and economic state of the country. Mike Hammond was absorbed into the Peterhouse teaching staff across

376-598: A reference library being added, as well as the conversion of the old Form I classroom into a science laboratory. rugby was introduced in 1961. John Paterson was elected as chairman of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools. The Springvale Estate matured along with the school as the developments took place. In 1968, John Paterson retired as headmaster and went to England . He was replaced by Brian Johnson in January 1969. Mr Johnson had taught at Springvale since 1953. The school proudly celebrated its 20th birthday and

423-468: A registered Cambridge International Examinations centre and adopted the Cambridge Primary curriculum. The motto is of special interest suggested to us in 1921 by Canon Arthur Davies , Principal of St. John's College, Agra , and later Dean of Worcester . In an old Northumbrian Gospel (circa A.D. 1150) the word disciple does not appear. When any mention is made of the followers of our Lord,

470-511: Is an Anglican , independent , co-educational , preparatory , boarding school for children aged 6 to 12. It is located near the town of Marondera in Zimbabwe . Ruzawi, which was founded by Robert Grinham and Maurice Carver, has a pupil population ranging from 205 to 220 depending on the balance of boys and girls and the number of pupils in each age group. In the Infants' Department there

517-537: Is an independent , preparatory , boarding and day school in Mashonaland East , Zimbabwe that was established in 1952. The school shares facilities with Peterhouse Girls' School on the Springvale Estate of approximately 1,200 acres (490 ha) with Gosho Park , a conservation area on the estate, being adjacent to the two schools. The majority of the pupil population are boarders while

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564-465: Is one class each for Grade One and Grade Two. An additional entry point at Grade Three enables there to be two classes from that level up to Grade 7. The school is situated some five kilometres south of Marondera in extensive grounds surrounded by many hectares of indigenous miombo woodland and exotic eucalyptus plantations. Ruzawi School is a member of the Association of Trust Schools (ATS) and

611-512: Is the Jerusalem cross with four additional lines drawn in. The emblem serves to recall that the school was founded on Christian principles. It also brings to mind the four Gospel writers whose work extracts are buried in the original Springvale buildings (now Peterhouse Girls' School ). The plain Jerusalem cross was the emblem of Ruzawi and Springvale adopted it in its adapted form because

658-649: The security situation and its proximity to Mozambique . The school had approached the Springvale School board "in general terms" on a previous occasion about the possibility of a move and, in March 1976, met specifically to ask if Springvale would consider taking on the pupils and staff who remained after Eagle had officially closed in the Vumba Mountains. Eagle Headmaster Michael Hammond, who had taught at Springvale for many years before moving to Eagle,

705-665: The 1950s. The school's motto was Arduus Ad Solem , a Latin phrase which means "Striving towards the Sun". The school shared the motto with the former Victoria University of Manchester (now the University of Manchester , but has a different motto) and the Dragon School , a co-educational, preparatory school in Oxford , England . The school had sports facilities and participation in rugby, cricket, soccer, athletics and swimming

752-699: The Board was advised that the Registrar of Companies had formally registered "Springvale Ltd" on 2 March 1952. The company was set up under the Anglican Foundation and 100 shares were issued. Patrick Gosho, after whom Gosho Park is named, was Springvale's first employee. Previously, he was an employee of Jim Blake, running the vegetable growing and beef production arm of Springvale Farm. He joined Springvale in 1951. The first boys arrived in May 1952 under

799-518: The Head is a member of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe (CHISZ). In 1926, Robert Grinham and Maurice Carver decided to establish a boys' school in Southern Africa. South Africa was a possible venue but eventually it was decided to establish the school in Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia). Various sites were visited in and around the capital but the most suitable venue

846-587: The Headmaster commented, "The first volume in the History of Springvale is now full. The bills for our upbringing have all been paid. Our Old Boys Association is established. Our first old boy's son is on the waiting list. We look forward to a future full of exciting new opportunities for development [and] I am confident that we shall meet an ever increasing need in the Africa of tomorrow." In January 1973, owing to

893-530: The Junior House. The school was given a new name, "Springvale House Preparatory School", to align the school with Peterhouse brand. On the 20th of January 1985, Springvale House was opened with a small gathering celebrating the new term. 93 pupils (boys and girls) in Grades 1-5 were enrolled at the school. Building plans came to fruition as new classrooms, sporting and ablution facilities were built. In 1990,

940-652: The Marondera Schools' Carol Concert. There are various sports offered at Springvale House. These include: Athletics , cricket , cross country , football , hockey , netball , rugby , swimming , tennis . The clubs and activities at Springvale House include: animal care, arts & craft, ballet , boardgames, chess , Christian Club , Connecting Classrooms, dancing, golf , guitar , gymnastics , hockey skills, horse riding , indoor hockey, marimbas, modelling, needlework , orchestra, rowing , squash , table tennis , taekwondo and triathlon . In 1996,

987-794: The School Chapel was built. The Chapel is a memorial to the Ruzawi boys who died in the Second World War . In 1978, The Grinham Carver Trust was founded by the Ruzawi Old Boys Association (now the Ruzawi Old Pupils Association) on the occasion of its 25th anniversary and in honour of the school's founders. In 2003, Ruzawi School became co-educational with the acceptance of girls into the school's student body. In 2013, Ruzawi became

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1034-512: The Springvale Board of Governors and the Ministry of Education. By 1983 matters had been resolved, one way or another. Eventually, the Anglican diocese decided to help by building new boarding facilities at Daramombe, a mission school that, like St Philip's, had been closed down during the war. The St Philip's boys could thus be moved en masse and the Anglican diocese expressed their thanks to

1081-555: The Springvale board for permitting St Philip's to stay at Springvale until the Daramombe facilities were ready in the course of 1983. Peterhouse, under then Rector Alan Megahey, took over Springvale. In October 1984, Jon Calderwood, headmaster at Hartmann House was appointed headmaster designate. Due to the plans of Dr Megahey, the Main School buildings were given over to Peterhouse, whilst the preparatory school would be based in

1128-410: The agreement, permission to reopen was refused by the Ministry of Education and Culture until the St Philip's pupils could be properly accommodated in a boarding school of their own. There was a perception that the St Philip's senior school pupils were being ousted in favour of a more privileged junior school, and the subsequent furore in the press reflected the acrimonious discussions taking place between

1175-553: The beams which support the thatched roof. It is a simple building; a no-nonsense expression of the Christian faith. In 2001, the plan to enlarge the chapel was completed. Two wings were added thus making the building cruciform . The original façade was maintained to be recognisable to former Springvale pupils. Springvale School Heads Springvale House Heads Notable alumni from Springvale School: Notable alumni from Springvale House: Ruzawi School Ruzawi School

1222-597: The donation of Mr Funnekotter, the Springvale House Museum was built. Plans to enlarge the Chapel of St Francis (made as early as 1997, spearheaded by Jon Calderwood) came to fruition in 2001 when two wings were added, thus creating the shape of a crucifix. The construction of the Sports Centre was completed in 2003, a facility in which various indoor sports are undertaken. The emblem of Springvale

1269-408: The following cultural and extramural activities: Ballet , Conservation Club, Cub Scouts , Design and Technology Club, Golf , Guitar, Music & Drama, Squash , Table Tennis , WildLife Quiz. Within the school, students are divided up into two 'houses' that compete along academic and sporting lines. The houses are named Grenfell, represented by olive green and named after Julian Grenfell

1316-453: The headship of Robert Grinham. The boys were temporarily transferred to Ruzawi then returned to Springvale in August. Canon Grinham retired in 1956. In 1957, John Paterson, the headmaster of St. Andrew's Preparatory School ( Grahamstown , South Africa), became the second headmaster of Springvale. He was accompanied by Claude Billington, the school's first chaplain. He oversaw the building of

1363-401: The housemaster's flat in Junior House to caretake what remained of the school, which was not confined simply to the school buildings. There was also the large estate to be managed, with its gum tree plantations (which were still economically viable) and St Francis village, the home of the Springvale Estate workers and their families, which had grown up along with the school since the 1950s and had

1410-507: The increasingly unstable political and security situation in Rhodesia , the border was closed and Express Motorways, a coach company, was forbidden to operate in Zambia thus making it difficult to transport Zambian pupils to the school. The number of Zambian pupils began to drop sharply. In the same year, Michael Hammond, a staff member of Springvale left to become headmaster of Eagle School ,

1457-499: The monitor system was introduced at the school, replacing the traditional prefect system. The aim is to develop the Grade 7 pupils to be leaders under the banner of ' servant leadership '. The chapel was built in the early 1950s and is dedicated to Saint Francis , who so inspired Springvale School’s first headmaster, Canon Robert Grinham. It is built of brick, rough plastered and white painted; its internal pillars are gum poles, as are

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1504-532: The music block in December 1959 and the establishment of Junior House (a boarding house with classrooms, a dining room and kitchen/laundry facilities, dormitories and a housemaster's residence). The foundation stone for Junior House was laid by Sir Humphrey Gibbs in April 1960. The 1960s saw major infrastructural developments at Springvale School with new tennis courts, a games room, playing fields, staff flats and

1551-654: The newly established boys' boarding school. An important use was found for the old stable building close to the inn. It was appropriately converted into the School Chapel. The building, now over a hundred years old, is equally appropriately in use as the School Museum. The founders of Ruzawi enlisted academic and domestic staff to help convert the Inn to a boys' boarding school. At the time, the boys attending Ruzawi ranged in age from seven to fourteen years. From 1932 to 1934 plans were discussed and finance arranged to replace

1598-719: The old buildings with the present large dormitory block. It became known as the Birchenough Building in recognition of the work Sir Henry Birchenough did on behalf of the school, particularly in the field of raising funds for the new buildings. Other major events in the school's history include the building of the Robert Grinham Hall and the Maurice Carver Music Centre, the establishment of the Computer Centre. In 1955,

1645-483: The owner of Springvale Farm. In 1950, Canon Grinham left the headship of Ruzawi School to undertake the new project. His first task was to raise funds for building the school and to assemble a Board of Governors. The board included the likes of the Rt Rev Edward Paget , Winston Field , Howard Smetham, Colonel Ralston and Maurice Carver, with the chairman being Sir Robert Hudson . At the first meeting,

1692-459: The remainder are day scholars. Springvale House is a member of the Association of Trust Schools (ATS) and the Headmaster is a member of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe (CHISZ). Springvale School was founded by Rev. Canon Robert Grinham and Maurice Carver, the founders of Ruzawi School , in 1952, as a second Anglican junior boys' school in Marondera. The school

1739-409: The road, and Headmaster Brian Johnson retired in 1977 and went to England. Before his departure, Mr Johnson welcomed John Stansbury as the new headmaster of Springvale (he was the head of Whitestone School before its closure in 1975). John Stansbury took over a school whose numbers were declining rapidly. Numbers were down from 150 at the end of 1976 to 102 and dwindled still further in the course of

1786-440: The school in its most difficult times but the board was forced to close the school at the end of 1979. In the hopes that one day the school would reopen, plans were made for its maintenance in the interim. Some equipment was sold off to Peterhouse and to Ruzawi but a great deal of the furniture and fittings, musical instruments, sporting equipment, blankets and linen were put into storage in Junior House. Patrick Gosho moved into

1833-462: The school was originally known as 'Ruzawi's younger brother'. There are numerous intramural and extramural activities on offer at the school. The activities that were on offer will vary on termly basis. Notable cultural events on the school calendar are the Eisteddfod, National Allied Arts Competitions, Harare Junior School Choir Concert, Music Concert (mid-year), Carol Concert (Third Term) and

1880-585: The words used are "Learning Knights". It would be difficult to find two words which better define the aim of the Christian life for Prep. School boys. — Ruzawi: The Founding of a School. Ruzawi School, alongside the ZIMSEC Primary curriculum, adopted the Cambridge Primary curriculum which was developed by Cambridge International Examinations . Ruzawi School offers the following sports: athletics , cricket , cross-country , hockey , netball , rugby , swimming and tennis . Ruzawi School has

1927-435: The year. Boys from Zambia and Malawi were being withdrawn as a result of the security situation and by 1979, economic sanctions meant that parents were not permitted to transfer money to pay the school fees. Others were finding places in schools closer to Salisbury. Despite his dedicated efforts to recruit new pupils, the head was in the unenviable position of having to reduce staff numbers as the school scaled down. The school

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1974-470: Was a few miles south of the then village of Marandellas, now Marondera . The old Ruzawi Inn, for many years a staging post on the carriage and wagon route from the capital to the eastern border, was up for sale. Neither the new road nor the recently built railway passed close to the Inn, which was no longer, an essential stopping place for travelers. The bedrooms, dining room, kitchen and ancillary buildings proved ideal as both accommodation and classrooms for

2021-469: Was born of the desire to cater for the large number of children on Ruzawi's waiting list which grew to 'epic proportions' in 1945. Canon Grinham fought against the proposal to expand Ruzawi's intake as he felt it would hurt the ethos of the school, thus pushing forward the idea of establishing another preparatory school. In 1949, the Ruzawi Board bought 1000 acres of land for £ 2 an acre from Jim Blake,

2068-521: Was compulsory with tennis being the exception. Rival schools were Chancellor Junior School , UBHS, Carmel, Baring, Vumba Heights and John Cowie. The school was divided into three sports houses – Swifts, Swallows and Martins. Activities included an archaeology club, horse riding , music and the Young Farmers Club. Plays, film screenings and concerts were regular term events. Eagle was precariously placed in its mountainous home because of

2115-471: Was desperately in need of financial assistance, and all the fundraising and appeals were simply not enough to keep it viable. Eagle School had brought a debt with them to the school in 1976, which fortunately had been cleared by 1979, but the chief problem was the non-payment of school fees by parents. By 1978 pupil numbers dropped to 50, in 1979 there were just 37 pupils and the school was owed nearly R$ 20,000 in fees. Many business concerns stepped in to support

2162-413: Was faced with an agonising decision: to close completely or to move the school somewhere where "we could continue to preserve our identity for the rest of the year". Thus, Eagle joined the ranks of Springvale at the opening of the second term 1976. Springvale temporarily benefitted from the influx of seventy Eagle boys but circumstances beyond the school's control forced it to close in 1979. The school site

2209-795: Was subsequently taken over by the Elim Mission Society . On the night of the 23 June 1978, twelve members of the mission were murdered by members of the ZANU–PF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front) in the Vumba massacre . The site was taken over by the ZANU PF and access to it is restricted. Between 1948 and 1976, the school had only four headmasters: 19°05′33″S 32°43′04″E  /  19.09253°S 32.71769°E  / -19.09253; 32.71769 Springvale School Springvale House Preparatory School (commonly known as Springvale or Springvale House )

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