With the end of their school journey atย Union High Schoolย now in sight, the ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ begins writing their ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐.
Weโd like to wish our Grade 12s everything of the very best for the weeks ahead.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ as they take on this exciting responsibility – guiding and inspiring their peers while upholding the values of Union High School.
Friday, 17 October 2025, will long be remembered as a day filled with emotion, reflection and pride as Union High School bid farewell to the Class of 2025 during a heartfelt ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ service held in the school hall.
After the singing of the School Hymn, the ceremony opened with a meaningful Bible reading and prayer delivered by Deputy Head Boy, ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป, and Deputy Head Girl, ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ถ๐น๐น, setting a reverent tone for what was to follow.
Headmaster Mr William Pringle then addressed the gathering, delivering words that resonated deeply with both the learners and parents – ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ and of the lifelong connections they will always share with their alma mater.
This was followed by the Head Prefectsโ Address, in which Head Boy ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ and Head Girl ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ต ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ reflected with warmth and sincerity on their journey through the school – a journey marked by laughter, challenges, growth and unbreakable friendships.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ and of the teachers and friends who shaped their years here.
Adding to the emotional atmosphere, the matrics performed a moving rendition of โ๐ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅโ by One Republic, a song choice that beautifully summed up their message – ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด.
As the slideshow of memories played, capturing moments from their Grade 12 year, there was laughter, nostalgia and quiet tears – a vivid reminder of how quickly time passes and how much these young men and women have grown.
Finally, as the School Song echoed through the hall, the Class of 2025 stood together one last time as Union learners – united in spirit and tradition.
Then came the moment that always stirs the heart: ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ข๐๐. One after the other, they made their way from the hall, pausing at the Centenary Bell – a beloved symbol of Unionโs enduring legacy.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐น – a tradition that marks both an ending and a beginning.
In that moment, surrounded by proud parents, staff and friends, the Class of 2025 stepped into the next chapter of their lives – ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ข ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐, ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ – your story will forever be part of Unionโs proud history.
As we celebrated ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ, we could hardly believe how many of our very own staff members were bidding farewell to their own children in the Class of 2025!
This year, ๐ ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ said goodbye to her eldest, Daniel; ๐ ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด to her youngest, Kyle; ๐ ๐ฟ๐ ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ถ๐น๐น has a double farewell with twins, Kenza and Alex; ๐ ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐น๐ celebrates her youngest, Erin; and ๐ ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป watches his eldest, Trystan, take this big step.
Our newly elected 2025/26 prefects attended their much-anticipated ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ – a weekend dedicated to leadership, learning and loads of fun!
Set in the heart of Addo, at the beautiful Leaders In Life-School and Youth Camps outdoor centre, the group – guided by Mrs Nelia Read and Mr Hanno Sparrius – took part in exciting challenges and activities designed to grow confidence, strengthen teamwork and inspire self-belief.
With this year’s ๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ adventure having come to an end, we reflect with gratitude on what a true privilege it has been for our learners to experience nights like these – beneath the breathtaking Karoo sky, with its endless stars, moonlight and the stillness of nature.
Our ๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ adventurers making their way home, backpacks and all, down into the heart of GraaffReinet – ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ!
After days of challenge, laughter, growth and adventure our Grade 10s returned to campus today to a true heroโs welcome.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐๐ด๐, ๐๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ – ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ – ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ, capturing the pride of a journey completed and the joy of being reunited.
For more than a decade, Union High Schoolโs ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ 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: ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ.
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 – ๐ค๐ณ๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด, ๐ณ๐ถ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ด, ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ป๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด. ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ 10 ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ.
๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฑ – 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.
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 peopleโs children. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐๐๐, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ โ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น, ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ.
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.
From the entire Union family: ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐, ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฑ . You are changing lives and your impact will echo for generations
Union High School is proud to share that its annual ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ 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.
This yearโs camp featured a very special guest, ๐ข๐น๐ฑ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ธ, 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.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ-๐ณ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐. 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.
๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ-๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด โ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆโ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ซ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด. 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!
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ that included educational games tailored for junior school learners โ 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.
With her 12 years of experience as a senior marker, Mrs Grewar shared valuable insights and guidance on the finer details of Paper 3 (Creative Writing), which the learners will be writing this afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, 26 August, Union High Schoolโs Grade 7s pulled out all the stops to host their much-anticipated ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ – and what a hit it was!
As part of their ๐๐๐ข๐ก๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ curriculum, our young entrepreneurs took charge of everything – from advertising and marketing their stalls, to budgeting and tallying profits and losses.
The result? A buzzing open-market atmosphere filled with excited shoppers, delicious food and drinks, creative crafts, fun toys, novelty goodies and plenty of entertainment – ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป-๐๐ต๐ฒ-๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น, ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ-๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต-๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ผ!
