Friday Headlines

the weekly newsletter from EHS

An Unforgettable South Africa Tour

08 November 2024

The South African Experience

After 18 months of planning, a tour party of 71 students headed to South Africa for 10 days, and what an incredible ten days it was! The experience has been life-changing in many ways. As Sean (Edwin Doran Rep) said at the tour meeting in September, South Africa is a socially and economically “un-equal” country. The girls saw this first-hand and they now fully understand how true that statement is. The foundation we visited was humbling and very powerful, with many holding back tears.

The girls also learnt a lot about South Africa’s past. Hearing about Nelson Mandela and his 17 years on Robben Island, moved many. Table Mountain (despite the queue) was phenomenal. We even bumped into an EHS alumni (who toured Italy with us in 2016) at the top! We were lucky to catch the last cable car that made it up and down due to the winds! The Cape Canopy Tour saw many girls conquer their fears, completing zip lines that spanned over 350 metres.

Pupils normally love to shop, and this tour was no exception! Trinkets, clothes and gifts for home were purchased, along with a lot of sweets! Students enjoyed South African cuisine, and the food we were served was truly delicious, with mulva sponge pudding (similar to sticky toffee pudding) being a real hit.

Sporting Achievements

As for sports, we were victorious in both swimming galas with many girls swimming for the school for the first time. Other more experienced competitive swimmers took on many swimmers in the South African swimming programme and won! Swimmers also enjoyed a coaching session with a South African coach who has coached at the Olympic Games. He was very impressed with our swimmers, especially the junior relay team, who have recently qualified in the national English Schools Swimming Association (ESSA) finals that take place in November. He wished them the best of luck!

Regarding netball, our four teams played well against some very strong South African squads. We were aware that the South African style of play (and sometimes umpiring) differed from ours, but playing against it was such a valuable experience. Many girls represented the school teams for the first time; others played new positions and played with students in different year groups. The hard work payed off, and all our teams improved with each match.

Congratulations must go to our first team who won 3 out of their 4 matches (losing the first by only 2 goals) against aggressive and fast opposition. Many of their opponents play for South Africa provincial teams. Two of these teams regularly play touring teams, and this was the first time they had ever been beaten by a UK opposition! Well done EHS!

Unforgettable Memories

As for the safari, we were fortunate to see 4 of the “Big 5”. We experienced a significant drop in temperature and weather changes. The Sunday night safari was in rather bracing weather but the 7am safari on the last morning had much more favourable conditions. My favourite quote was, “This is a bit different from West Midlands Safari park!”

Our pupils looked after each other well. They formed new friendships across year groups, and as I said to them on our presentation night, they will always be the tour group of 2024! Only they have shared this wonderful experience together which will stay with them for years to come. They have also now either played netball or swam internationally - some even did both!

One fun moment to remember when we play the Springboks at rugby in the next few weeks - our students were fortunate enough to travel in the Springbok buses, and we were mistaken for the team upon arriving at a restaurant! We teased the crowd a little by sending Mr Batchelor and the bus driver off the bus first, followed by 70 EHS students and staff - not exactly the team they were expecting!

The tour was phenomenal! I have always been very proud to work at EHS, and in my 18 years at this school, this experience will go down as a particular highlight.

Where next? Many have asked…..

We have plenty of videos of the trip coming soon on our YouTube channel. Do keep an eye out for these!

Mrs Batchelor

Back to Friday Headlines