The Philosophy Club was started in 2021 as there was a need to start a community of free-thinking students. Various topics are included to broaden the students’ knowledge of ethics, morality and general philosophical concepts. Alongside the focus of philosophy, topics related to sociology, psychology and other extra-curricular content are also included in discussions.
This club provides a forum which allows learners to develop a critical and analytical approach to discussions and proplem solving.
Students present and facilitate the topics and all learners are encouraged to participate freely.
During meetings there is a vibrant and lively atmosphere where input from all learners are encouraged and learners are allowed to share their opinions freely.
Contact teacher: Mrs H. Rose-Innes
The Table That Makes You Think
In 2020, the Union High School was gifted a wondrous new addition to its campus – South African sculptor Louis Olivier’s “THINK Table”. The table, which is a limited edition artwork, was donated to the school by the Arnott family, in celebration of the school’s recent Centenary.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Old Unionite Adrian Arnott, the son of the late Herby Arnott who served the school as headmaster from the 1940s to the 1960s, said that the family desired to gift the school with a piece of art that is innovative, while being functional and attractive. A piece that would be around for the next 100 years to provide all with the perfect place to stop and think.
The bronze sculpture that forms the main focus of the table at Union, spells ‘THINK’ from one side, while another perspective reveals little human silhouettes in different thinking poses. The characters are shown engrossed in various activities: discussing philosophies and world views, relaxing, pondering life, teaching and learning, which acts as a reflective reminder to those learners passing by or sitting around the table, that sometimes one needs to change one’s perspective to think differently.
“In today’s school environment, it’s not just the thought, but the quality and inventiveness of the thinking that counts,” said Arnott. “I’m an avid believer in critical thinking that pushes the boundaries to make a difference in the world and it is our sincerest hope that this piece of art will inspire the learners of Union High School to take ownership of “thinking that can change our world”.
The ‘THINK Table’, which immortalises the importance of critical thinking, together with the freedom to think, is inscribed with the well-known quote by the late Herby Arnott which reads as follows: “It is my fervent prayer that God will continue greatly to bless this school and all who enter it, and may whatsoever things that are pure and lovely and of good report here forever flourish and abound”.