Month: Sep 2025

Bulletin, Student Life

For more than a decade, Union High School’s 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝟭𝟬 𝗢𝗗𝗬𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗬 has stood as one of the most powerful, transformative experiences in the journey of our learners.

Hundreds of Unionites have stepped into the vastness of the Karoo with little more than their backpacks, tents, courage and the guidance of two extraordinary people: 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗱.

The Odyssey is no ordinary school outing. It is a rite of passage – one that strips away comfort, demands resilience and challenges every learner to discover their own strength.

From flash floods and stomach bugs to blisters and aching bodies, the Karoo landscape tests the mettle of even the bravest. Yet it also rewards with sights and moments of pure magic – 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘴, 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 10 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥.

𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 – the engine that keeps the Odyssey alive and thriving. With their love for the outdoors, deep passion for young people and zest for life, they have sown wisdom, grit and courage into the next generation.

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.

What makes their contribution even more remarkable is that, with their own three children long graduated from Union, Bronwen and David continue to give tirelessly to other people’s children. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘂𝘁𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 – 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹, 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿.

The Union Schools considers itself profoundly blessed to have such stalwarts in our midst. The legacy of the Odyssey is written not just in the dust of Karoo trails, but in the character and spirit of every learner who has taken part – and at the core of that legacy, stand Bronwen and David Langmead.

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 10𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴!

From the entire Union family: 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 . You are changing lives and your impact will echo for generations

Bulletin, Student Life

Union High School is proud to share that its annual 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗣 took place this past weekend in the picturesque village of Nieu-Bethesda, where 33 enthusiastic Grade 11 learners immersed themselves in an unforgettable weekend of innovation, creativity and problem-solving.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘔𝘳 𝘐𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘳𝘴 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 – 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

This year’s camp featured a very special guest, 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸, who fondly recalled attending his own Grade 11 STEM Camp in 2016. Joining forces with Mr Brink were Mrs Cathy Pringle, Mr Elrich Jantjies and Mr JP Kruger, who all guided and inspired learners throughout the weekend.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲-𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. Learners explored the world of gaming and web design using advanced tools provided by Google Gemini (AI). They also discovered the basics of how to create their very own AI agent, experimenting with innovative AI tools that unlock creativity and enhance learning.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸-𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 “𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦” 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘳 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘫𝘪𝘦𝘴. Traditionally, no grade has ever managed to crack one of his puzzles without his assistance. This year, however, history was made. The Grade 11s applied their classroom mathematics, worked tirelessly through the first stage, and – with determination, teamwork and just a touch of luck – became the first group ever to fully crack the code!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗯 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 that included educational games tailored for junior school learners – an inspiring way to combine fun, functionality and service to younger learners.

The camp was a resounding success, not only equipping learners with cutting-edge digital skills but also strengthening bonds of teamwork, perseverance and innovation.

𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴.