Religious affiliation(s) Christianity Headmaster Dennis Anderson Motto Diens Founded 30 January 1911 | Oversight RCZ Daisyfield Trust Phone +263 71 260 8485 Number of students 466 (2016) | |
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Type Independent, boarding and day school Established 30 January 1911 (1911-01-30) Founders Rev. A.J. Botha
Rev. J.N. Geldenhuys Address P.O Box ST 650, Southerton,, Gleneagles Rd, Harare, Zimbabwe Similar Prince Edward School, Westridge High School, Allan Wilson School, Dominican Convent School, Westridge Primary School Profiles | ||
Eaglesvale high school 1999
Eaglesvale Senior School is a Christian, co-educational independent, boarding and day school situated on an estate approximately 100 acres in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is 12km south west of the Harare Central Business District. It shares the same estate with Eaglesvale Preparatory School which is the primary school.
Contents
- Eaglesvale high school 1999
- History
- The school badge and motto
- Ownership and mismanagement
- Embezzlement
- Notable alumni
- References
There are over 500 pupils in the senior school. Students, alumni and staff of Eaglesvale call their school 'Vale'.
Eaglesvale Senior School and Preparatory School are members of the Association of Trust Schools (ATS) and the Headmasters are members of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe (CHISZ). The schools participate in the festivals held by the National Institute of Allied Arts.
Eaglesvale high school 1999
History
Eaglesvale’s first home was in Bulawayo where it opened as the Bulawayo Orphanage on 30 January 1911, an establishment of the Dutch Reformed Church by Reverends A.J. Botha and J.N. Geldenhuys. In 1914 the Dutch Reformed Church then moved the school (orphanage) to Daisyfield Farm in Somabhula near Gweru with the intention of establishing a farm to produce food for the orphans. The school was renamed Daisyfiled. In 1948, the Dutch Reformed Church as the responsible Authority moved the school to the present site. This was a farm 10 miles from Salisbury (now Harare). The school was built close to the railway line for easy transport. The school was renamed Bothashof School in honour of H Botha, son of Rev. A.J. Botha, also a Reverend of the Dutch Reformed Church. As the city expanded, most of the farm was sold giving in to industrial development in the early 1970’s. In 1978 the school struggled to get students resulting in the Dutch Reformed Church, Central Africa, closing the school and selling the land to National Railways of Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia Railways).
In 1982, the school reopened with one black student and the rest white. Due to the new Zimbabwean Government’s policy of education for all, the school enrolment increased to 400 in the Junior School and eight hundred in the Senior School. The principal was Mr Stokes.
In 1985, Bothashof School was renamed Eaglesvale. In 1988, the school celebrated 40 years in Willowvale. J Bousfield joined the school in 1989 as the new headmaster. In 2002 Kenneth McKean took over as headmaster. Due to economic and other hardships, the school enrolment dropped to below 600. New subjects such as Design and Technology, Thinking Skills etc were introduced to the curriculum and the enrolment stabilised. McKean left at the end of August 2008 and Mr Tirivavi took over as headmaster of the school.
On 11 June 2010, the Dutch Reformed Church, Central Africa, surrendered the Daisyfield Trust which inter alia had the responsibility of Eaglesvale School to the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe under the leadership of Rev Dr Chomutiri as moderator. The Daisyfield Trust was renamed the RCZ Daisyfield Trust. All legal formalities were completed. On 13 February 2014, the Dutch Reformed Church Central Africa represented by Rev G A Brytenbach publicly handed over Eaglesvale School to the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe represented by the Moderator Rev Dr Rangarirai Rutoro.The event was attended by Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo, Education minister Lazarus Dokora and Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa.
In 2015, Naison Tirivavi left the school with Mr. R. Ndawona, then deputy headmaster, assuming the role as acting headmaster of Eaglesvale Senior School. Mr. Dennis Anderson was appointed Headmaster of the Senior School from 1 May 2016.
The school badge and motto
The school badge consists of a shield divided into two fields horizontally and the motto of the institution underneath. The shield has a bible on a green background in the top division and an ox wagon on a maroon background in the bottom division of the shield. The badge symbolised the history of the people that founded the school who tried to live according to the Word of God. Diens is the school motto which means "Service" in the Afrikaans language.
Ownership and mismanagement
In 2013 the school's headmaster and standing member of the ruling ZANU-PF party, Naison Tirivavi, was suspended for alleged misappropriation of school funds. With the assistance of ZANU-PF Tirivavi was reinstated and fired the school board. In 2014 the school ownership was transferred from the Dutch Reformed Church to the Reformed Church of Zimbabwe with unverified claims being made that the school was indigenised under Zimbabwe's controversial Indigenisation policy and under the argument that it was a foreign entity. There were claims that the school went bankrupt. It was revealed to the press by Reverend Chomutiri, Chairman of the RCZ Daisyfield Trust board, that five hundred thousand (American) dollars had been invested into the school (by the board) for the refurbishment of the premises and the purchase of new buses, thus refuting the bankruptcy allegations.
Embezzlement
On 23 September 2015, then headmaster of Eaglesvale, Naison Tirivavi, together with two other senior employees, Cheryl Botha (salaries officer) and Charles Shokobishi (bursar) were charged with defrauding the school of US$873,840 by the State, with Idah Maromo as prosecutor, at the Harare Magistrates' Court.
Board members had discovered discrepancies involving cash payments in lieu of leave days to non-teaching staff despite the board having given standing instructions to the suspects in the previous year that there should be no encashment of leave days. A forensic audit ordered by the school board established that Botha was allegedly paying herself unauthorised cash in lieu of leave with authorisation from Tirivavi without the school board's knowledge. Botha had received US$518,007 from the school as payment of cash in lieu of leave and overstated bonuses. Tirivavi received US$148,743 inclusive of cash in lieu of leave and term allowance. Shokobishi received US$19,903 as cash in lieu of leave.