There are very few people we could imagine stepping into the well-worn shoes of Mr Kingwill as Estate Manager, but in ๐ ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ we have every confidence that we have found a most worthy successor.
With a smile and what looked suspiciously like the keys to the entire kingdom in hand, Mr Kingwill officially entrusted Mr Jacobs with his new domain today.
We have no doubt that under his watchful eye, everything will remain in excellent order – ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐น๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐บ๐ด ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ด!
As this month draws to a close, so too does an extraordinary chapter in the life of our school.
With ๐ ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐๐ถ๐น๐น retiring as Estate Manager of Union High School, we paused this morning to honour a man whose quiet dedication has shaped our school for nearly three decades.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐, Mr Kingwill has been a steady and faithful presence on our campus – arriving before most, leaving long after many and tending to our grounds and facilities with pride and care.
During Assembly today, we paid a very special farewell tribute to him. There was a deep sense of gratitude in the air as we reflected on the years he has given so selflessly. Following Assembly, our staff and learners formed an ๐๐ข๐ก๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ – a corridor of appreciation – lining up to thank him in a way words alone never quite could.
In an emotional moment, Mr Kingwill was invited to ring the Centenary Bell – its clear notes echoing across the grounds he has cared for so faithfully.
Congratulations to our Union High School, Graaff-Reinet and Union Preparatory School, Graaff-Reinet swimmers who, following their excellent performances at the recent Karoo Gala, were selected to represent the Karoo Team at the ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ being held at Merrifield College in East London at the beginning of March.
๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ Grace Kitching, Mercy Dizitiro, Liam Pienaar, Uziah Willemse, Catie Davenport, Gemma Murray, Daniel Davenport (absent), Taylor Jacobs and Lisa McEwan, as well as Ruben Bester, Blake Bezuidenhout, Alivia Palmer, Julia Walker, William Preston and AJ Venter.
This evening we had the privilege of hosting our ๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก and what a wonderful evening it was.
From powerful reflections on believing in yourself, to the influence of role models, to the thought-provoking question of whether happiness is a choice – ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐.
We are incredibly proud of every learner who participated. Public speaking takes bravery and our juniors rose to the occasion beautifully.
A special ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, Chantรฉ Bezuidenhout (1st place), Clea Clark and Aidan Ferreira (tied 2nd place) and Isabelle Tadesse (3rd place).
Union High School, Graaff-Reinet looks forward to hosting our 25th annual Anne Beagley Junior Rugby & Hockey Festival this year!
We are excited to welcome schools from across the country for four unforgettable days of top-quality junior rugby and hockey, great sportsmanship and a lot of festival fun!
Well done to ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด (Grade 5) on her excellent achievement in the Girls U11 High Jump at the recent Sarah Baartman Athletics Meet for Primary Schools at the Oval in Gqeberha. Graceโs impressive performance secured her selection to represent the Sarah Baartman Team at the Provincial Championships to be held at Queen’s College in Komani from 6 to 7 March.
The annual ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ข ๐๐๐๐, held at Hoรซr Volkskool this afternoon, Wednesday, 18 February, once again brought together talented swimmers from across the region.
In addition to the Union participants, teams from Gill, Cradock, Volkskool, Marlow and a group of home-schoolers competed in an exciting event that celebrated both individual excellence and teamwork.
In the primary school category, ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ญ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ ๐๐๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ with an impressive 367 points. Laer Volkskool followed closely with 344 points, while Gill (284) and the Homeschool team (125) completed the standings.
In the high school section, Union High School’s girls finished in a strong second place with 179 points, just behind Hoรซr Volkskool (196). The boysโ finished third with 77 points against tough competition from Hoรซr Volkskool (137) and Marlow (116).
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ธ๐ฒ, Senior Victor Ludorum and ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฏ๐, Junior Victrix Ludorum
A massive congratulations to ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ธ๐ฒ on being named Senior Victor Ludorum following last week’s ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ข ๐๐๐๐. We are equally delighted to celebrate ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฏ๐, who was crowned Junior Victrix Ludorum after a phenomenal set of swims.
Taylor not only secured six 1st places in the U14 Primary division, but also broke the 50m Backstroke record in an impressive 34.89 seconds. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ!
A special mention to ๐ญ๐ผรซ ๐ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ for her outstanding four 1st places and to ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐, who claimed six 1st places in the U14 Primary division and broke the 100m Freestyle record in 1:08.49.
Well done as well to ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐, who earned three 1st places and one 2nd place in the U12 category and to ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐, who secured one 1st place and three 2nd places.
Congratulations too to ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฝ, who achieved three 2nd places and one 1st place in the U16 Girls division and to ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ-๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ฎ for her excellent three 2nd places in the U14 Girls category.
We are ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ of every swimmer who represented the school with pride and dedication.
Nine athletes from Union High School participated in the Sarah Baartman Athletics Meeting on Tuesday, 17 February at the Oval in Gqeberha.
Our athletes delivered outstanding performances in both field and track events. Their hard work was rewarded with several top finishes, securing the following positions on the podium:
u14 ๏ฌ Liyabona Magqabi 1st place in 400 m ๏ฌ Noel Shakane 3rd place in 100 m and 2nd place in Long Jump ๏ฌ Angelique Kyanda-Kaboza 3rd in Shot Put ๏ฌ Samantha Musakase 3rd in High Jump
U15 ๏ฌ Jordan Maritz 2nd place in 200m ๏ฌ Rachel Wenham 3rd place in Javelin
u17 ๏ฌ Qhama Solomon 2nd place in Long Jump as well as High Jump
U19 ๏ฌ Liam Hornabrook 2nd place in Discus
Qhama Solomon was selected to represent the Sarah Baartman Team at the Eastern Cape Schools Athletics Meeting in High Jump and Long Jump, Boys u17 in Komani from 13 – 15 March:
We wish him all of the best for a successful and rewarding competition.
A heartfelt ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ to the incredible organisers for putting together such a joyful event and for giving Union High School the opportunity to be part of it.
๐ง๐ผ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ who passed our water station – your smiles and appreciation made the early start and busy morning more than worthwhile.
A very special thank you must go to groundsman, ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐, whose love for Union shines through in everything he does.
We are also deeply grateful to ๐ ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ for so generously giving his morning, alongside the enthusiastic boarders from Arthur Kingwill House, to help man a water station with such energy and pride.
To the wonderful Union girls who helped at our station – ๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ณ๐๐ป.
And lastly, sincere a thank you to FreshStop At Astron Energy for their generous contribution to our stall!
From the very first ball bowled on Wednesday, 18 February, it was clear that Union High School’s junior cricketers’ 2026 ๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐ข๐๐ would be about ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐๐.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐ช๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ, claiming a superb 8-wicket win built on a breathtaking spell of 6/5 – including a hat-trick that had teammates erupting in celebration. It was the perfect start and a moment of pure joy.
Over the next few days, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐น๐ – by strong Grey College partnerships, by a tense chase against St Andrewโs halted cruelly by bad light with the game still in the balance and by a final-day thriller where they restricted Saints to just 72, only to fall one agonizing run short. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ, ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ค๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ญ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ, the tour was a journey of grit and growth. A narrow two-wicket defeat to Willem Postma after posting 112 showed just how competitive they are and even in the tougher matches that followed, the team never dropped their heads.
Perhaps the most special moment came off the field on Friday, 20 February, when the players met members of the Knights Cricket Team at St Andrewโs. Watching the young cricketers light up as they asked questions and listened intently to the professionals was a reminder of why tours like this matter – dreams were sparked and horizons widened.
This tour will be remembered for special performances, hard lessons, shared laughter and the bonds strengthened between teammates. The scorebooks will record the results, but they wonโt capture the heart shown in every match. ๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ, ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ – ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ.
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