The members of the 2018/19 prefect body enjoyed a fun evening with the newly elected 2019/20 prefects in the Tony Burrell Union on Monday evening, 16 September.
The evening saw the prefects engage in several fun activities and games, during which the old prefects sharing some of the knowledge they’ve acquired and lessons they’ve learned over the past year with the newly inducted prefects.
Steve and Belinda Grewar recently gifted Union High School a large canvas, with a scriptural reference that reads as follows:
“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. Psalm 113:3”
The canvas was mounted in the school’s main quad and bears testament to the school’s inherent Christian ethos which is promoted in all aspects of school life.
The school thanks them for this thoughtful gesture!
This past Saturday, 14 September, some of Union’s Arthur Kingwill House boys and Herby Arnott House girls participated in the second annual Tracks4Cancer event in Graaff-Reinet.
This fundraising event, which saw the learners running and cycling through the Camdeboo National Park, was held in support of the Graaff-Reinet Cancer Association
Union extends its thanks to the organisers for a fantastic event, Mr. Hanno Sparrius for arranging the learners’ participation and the boarders for their enthusiasm.
One of the longest running schools cricket weeks in the country will be hosted by Union High School next weekend, with 10 leading teams competing in matches from Friday, 20 September to Tuesday, 24 September.
In this, its Centenary year, the Graaff-Reinet school will now be in charge of the 52nd anniversary of the Cape Schools’ Cricket Week.
The tournament was started in the 1960s, with eight teams – four from the EP and Border and four from Cape Town – meeting for a festival of cricket.
The original teams were Grey, Queen’s Dale and Union High from the eastern region, with the Western Cape sides being SACS, Wynberg, Bishops and Rondebosch.
In the years following the inaugural week, Selborne (1969) and Kimberley Boys’ High (1971) were also included, although the number of teams attending the festival remained at eight until 10 teams contested 1988 edition.
Since the turn of the century, the number of teams has varied from 10 to 12.
As you would expect in half a century of tournaments, the week has seen a number of players who reached the highest level of the game coming through its ranks.
Back in the sixties, legends such as Kenny McEwan, Peter Kirsten, Allan Lamb and Garth le Roux all played in the week, while more recently Johan Botha, Wayne Parnell, Rusty Theron, Danie Piedt and Dawid Malan, now playing for England, have been part of the event.
Interestingly, Malan attended Paarl Boys’ High, who have only competed a handful of times, but will be back this year, taking on Queen’s College at Asante Sana Game Reserve in their opening match on Saturday, 21 September.
SACS, the oldest high school in South Africa, will be taking part again this year, with their first match to take place on Saturday, 21 September, against host school Union High on Union’s Minnaar Field.
Paul Roos is also in the line-up and should have an interesting opener against Dale College on Saturday at the Botanics Sports Club, while Grey High School will face tough opposition against Rondebosch in their opener on Saturday at Hoër Volkskool and Selborne College will be up against Wynberg in their opener on Saturday at Union’s Puttick Field.
Following Saturday’s game against SACS, Union will play Paarl Boys, Paul Roos and Wynberg.
The fixtures are:
| Date | Teams | Venue | Time | Format |
| Friday 20/9 |
Friendly “EP vs WP” | Botanics Sports Club | 18:00 | T20 |
| Saturday 21/9 |
Union High vs SACS Selborne College vs Wynberg Grey High vs Rondebosch Dale College vs Paul Roos Queen’s College vs Paarl Boys |
Minnaar Field Puttick Field Hoër Volkskool Botanics Sports Club Asante Sana Game Reserve |
09:00 09:00 09:00 09:00 09:30 |
Declaration |
| Sunday 22/9 |
Union High vs Paarl Boys Queen’s College vs Paul Roos Selborne College vs SACS Grey High vs Wynberg Dale College vs Rondebosch |
Minnaar Field Puttick Field Hoër Volkskool Botanics Sports Club Asante Sana Game Reserve |
09:00 09:00 09:00 09:00 09:30 |
Declaration |
| Monday 23/9 |
Union High vs Paul Roos Dale College vs Paarl Boys Queen’s College vs Wynberg Selborne College vs Rondebosch Grey High vs SACS |
Minnaar Field Puttick Field Hoër Volkskool Botanics Sports Club Asante Sana Game Reserve |
09:00 09:00 09:00 09:00 09:30 |
Declaration |
| Tuesday 24/9 |
Union High vs Wynberg Grey High vs Paarl Boys Dale College vs SACS Queen’s College vs Rondebosch Selborne College vs Paul Roos |
Minnaar Field Puttick Field Hoër Volkskool Botanics Sports Club Asante Sana Game Reserve |
09:00 09:00 09:00 09:00 09:30 |
50 Overs |
Old Unionite Ronnie Spies Jnr has recently embarked on an adventure of a lifetime!
In an endeavor to raise awareness of mental health problems as well as environmental issues, he is attempting the first ever solo walk around the circumference of South Africa – a distance of over 6 000 kilometres.
This feat has never been achieved by anyone before.
Follow his journey at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1110939349295501/
On Saturday, 14 September, Union’s 1st XI travelled to the Asante Sana Private Game Reserve to play their annual fixture against Uitenhage’s Brandwag.
Brandwag won the toss and elected to bat first. Union started well, striking early and building a steady pressure with the ball taking regular wickets.
A lapse in concentration later in the innings, however, resulted in several missed chances. That, and some loose bowling, allowed Brandwag to score 165 in their allotted 40 overs after having stood at only 64 for 6 at drinks.
Union’s best bowlers were Lunga Zantsi (2 for 9 in 6 overs), Brett Amsterdam (2 for 25 in 8 overs) and Trevor Moos (2 for 28 in 8 overs).
Union then went in to bat and got off to a great start.
They continued to stay well ahead of the run rate and a fantastic 53 run partnership between Brett Amsterdam and Bowen Langmead looked to secure the match.
Union then, unfortunately, completely lost their way with the bat – losing 7 wickets for 30 runs – to lose the match by 25 runs in the end.
Union’s best batsmen were Bowen Langmead (52) and Brett Amsterdam (32).
Union’s 2nd Team also played against Brandwag on Saturday in Uitenhage
Union was the toss and and elected to bat first. They were bowled out for 129 in the 31st over. The team’s batsmen recorded the following: Mihlali Tyanase, 22, Jarrod Naudé, 20, James Pringle,16, with Josh Calitz and Rogen Odendaal each scoring 10 runs in this 35-over match.
Branwag passed Union’s score in the 23rd over, having lost 7 wickets in the process. Union’s best bowlers were Jarrod Naudé (3/16) and Matthew Hesselink (2/23).
Brandwag won the match by 3 wickets.
Union High School will be hosting matches against Queen’s College, Gill College & Niko Brummer
Date: Friday 13 September & Saturday 14 September 2019
Union’s first boys’ junior tennis team competed against Gill Primary and Queen’s College on Friday and Saturday, 13 and 14 September, respectively
The boys recorded excellent results, beating Gill Primary 3 – 0 and Queen’s College 11 – 4.
Congratulations to all the players on their stellar effort!
Every year in September, Union Preparatory School hosts a ‘Party of HOPE’ in support of the Cupcakes of HOPE non-profit organisation.
By way of selling brightly coloured, freshly-baked cupcakes, they raise funds for kids with cancer who are in need of medical and financial assistance
Always willing to offer their assistance, Union High School’s Interact members aided the initiative by selling cupcakes at the high school.
It is a fundamental principle that you cannot play good cricket on poor wickets.
With the rugby season behind us, the cricket season having recently commenced and the much-anticipated Cape Schools Cricket Week on our doorstep, a lot of careful and thoughtful work has gone into the preparation of the cricket pitches as well as the in- and outfields of Union’s Murray and Puttick fields these past months.
As the humble grass on which the season’s matches will be contested plays a critical role in determining the outcome of a match, Union thought it vital that the condition of the school’s turf satisfies players, coaches, spectators and administrators alike this season.
To ensure that everyone’s high expectations are met, Union delved into the depths of horticultural science to engineer the ground carefully to everyone’s satisfaction. This has been particularly difficult owing to the quality of water that has been available for use, with the salt content, in particular, providing the school with headaches.
Thanks to the generous support and immense efforts by numerous individuals, Union is happy to report that all the hard work is bearing fruit and that the turf should be pitch-perfect for Cape Schools Cricket Week, which kicks off on Friday, 20 September at Union.
The run-up to this festival has seen a lot go on behind the scenes at Union to ensure joy is brought to the cricket connoisseur.
The grass and soil were measured and analysed to make sure they are healthy and have the right amount of compaction and moisture.
A lot of attention was also focused on the school’s pitches, which received a complete once over – they were drilled, scarified, the old bully was taken out and fertiliser and top soil added. The pitches were then watered and nurtured back into shape.
All of this would not have been possible without:
• Mr Donald Kingwill (who knows all the intricacies of Union’s pitches) and his crew of groundsmen who have been mowing, cutting, compacting, watering and crushing bully day in and day out.
• Mr Petrus Botha of N1 Construction who has not only made his roller available for the purposes of compacting the pitches, but also very generously helped the school in transporting water to flood the pitches on a weekly basis.
• Mr Derek Light who donated 180 square metres of kikuyu grass to use where needed on the in- and outfields.
• Mr David Stern who assisted in sourcing new bully for the pitches and Mr Campbell Scott of Campbell Scott Machine Hire who made his tipper truck available to the school for the transport thereof.
• Mr John-Allen Biggs who provided invaluable advice and support.
• Mr William Coleman and Mr David Stern who facilitated the testing of the soil which enabled Union to fine-tune the preparation process. Mr Coleman also donated kelp fertiliser and Gyp-Flo.
• Mr Peter Brotherton who supplied fertiliser and manure.
At Union, we firmly believe that good pitches and immaculate fields promote the game and develop good cricketers.
We, therefore, hope that all the hard work and preparation these past couple of months will help our players, as well as those from visiting schools, give their best on the field.
We look forward to the season with much anticipation.
For any cricket coach to deliver a programme or service of value, they need to be properly equipped, not only with the correct techniques for cricket, but also the ‘soft skills’ of coaching and to be brought up to date with the different changes in the game.
At Union we aim to equip our coaches to develop their own skills from where they are at currently and to open their eyes to what is out there for them to use.
We are therefore very pleased to congratulate Mr Raymond Hamilton and Mr Stephen Bezuidenhout who recently attended a Cricket South Africa Level 2 Cricket Coaching course and passed the examination with flying colours!
The course, presented by Mr Christo Esau, Coaching Manager of Eastern Province Cricket, covered all aspects of coaching and various teaching methods, as well as practice organisation and planning.