Our annual 𝗚𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 & 𝗗𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, held on Saturday in the gardens of Union High School, Graaff-Reinet as part of our Founders’ Weekend celebrations, was truly a special occasion.

𝘉𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥é𝘤𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥.

The atmosphere was one of warmth, laughter and connection, celebrating the precious bond between mothers and daughters in the most meaningful way.

𝗪𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 to our lovely speakers, 𝗜𝗺𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀, who shared her uplifting message, “When Life Gives You Lemons,” and 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗰𝗘𝘄𝗮𝗻, who delighted us with her creative citrus recipes.

A heartfelt thank you as well to all our generous donors who contributed so many wonderful prizes for our lucky draw. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. Finally, our deepest appreciation goes to Mrs Anélle Ekkerd and the MF Committee for their dedication and hard work in organising such a beautiful and successful event.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩.

View photographs of this event on our Facebook Page

As the start of Founders’ Weekend early this morning ushered in a day of reflection and celebration, we found ourselves wrapped in the warmth of gratitude and admiration.

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 – 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 – 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀’ 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, marking not just the passage of time but the profound impact of the men and women who had the vision that led to the creation of the school back in 1919, and who have contributed to the leadership and vision of the school since.

None of the education for which the school has become known would have happened without the foresight of these individuals, who set out with the express intention of developing a school which would provide an excellent education for children in Graaff-Reinet. We owe them a debt of gratitude – without them, this fine school simply would not exist – and this is why we honour them on Founders’ Day each year.

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹’𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿’𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

The ceremony commenced with a warm welcome from the headmaster, Mr William Pringle, who also led a brief devotional. Following his address, the learners of Union High School, Graaff-Reinet, filled the hall with a heartfelt rendition of the school song.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘰 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘪 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 7 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘢 𝘖𝘵𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩.

A special congratulatory message was the delivered by Union Preparatory School, Graaff-Reinet learners Paballo Mabapa and Christian-Ross Maya.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀, the learners eagerly exited the hall to enjoy their doughnuts and partake in the festive activities planned for Founders’ Weekend 2026.

Today we were privileged to honour and celebrate some of our 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚-𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗙𝗙 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦 whose dedication has helped shape Union High School over the years.

𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝘂-𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿 was recognised for an incredible 20 years of service, while 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 and 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶 𝗛𝗲𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀-𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 were celebrated for 10 years each.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Early this morning, Union High School’s head prefects and their deputies paid a special visit to the Grade 1 classrooms at Union Preparatory School.

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘰 𝘉𝘰𝘺, 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘺 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘴.

After friendly introductions, 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝟭 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁, lovingly handmade by a Union mom. These special hearts form part of a gentle “hug-a-heart” initiative – a small but meaningful token to help comfort our youngest Unionites through the sometimes worrying first weeks of school. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵.

We extend our heartfelt 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞𝗦 to Misha, Liso, Josh and Katelyn for sharing their time, warmth and leadership – and for helping to wrap our youngest learners in Union love.

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 during (and in the time leading up to) the 2025 NSC examinations.

𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.

𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗱’s work in English Home Language produced 3 A aggregates with a highest mark of 86%, while Life Orientation achieved a 100% pass rate, 13 A aggregates and a top mark of 90%. 𝗠𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗵 guided her Afrikaans First Additional Language learners to 9 A aggregates and a highest mark of 87%. Strong results were also seen in Mathematics under 𝗠𝗿 𝗘𝗹𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗷𝗶𝗲𝘀 (1 A aggregate, highest mark 80%) and Mathematical Literacy with 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗚𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 (4 A aggregates, highest mark 89%). 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗱’s Accounting class achieved a 100% pass rate, 2 A aggregates and a top mark of 93%. 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 recorded excellent results in Business Studies (4 A aggregates, highest mark 87%) and Tourism (100% pass rate, 1 A aggregate, highest mark 84%). Further 100% pass rates were achieved in Computer Applications Technology (𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶 𝗛𝗲𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀-𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀), Geography (𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀), and Life Sciences (𝗠𝗿 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘂𝘀), with Life Sciences also producing 2 A aggregates and a highest mark of 93%. 𝗠𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗼𝗺𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻’s History class earned an A aggregate with a top mark of 80% and Physical Sciences under 𝗠𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 achieved an A aggregate with a highest mark of 81%.

𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺.