"Mr G Clegg begs to inform the inhabitents of Bloemfontein and the surrounding district, that he intends opening his School, under the superintendenship of the the Bishop of the Diocese, on Monday, 16 November in the Government's Schoolroom which has been granted by My Government of the Free State fort hat purpose.
The scope of instruction will comprise the usual branches of a sound liberal education.
Terms may be had on application to the Master
Bloemfontein
November 12th 1863"
~ Front page of the Friend of the Free State newspaper on 13 November 1863.
...and just like that, my school was formed by these three paragraphs published in a local paper.
Indeed when people think of schools in Bloemfontein, they think of the rich history of Grey College famed for producing Springboks and sponsoring the ongoing national quip of "how do you know somebody is from Grey College? They tell you".
I was in Grey College.
In grade 3 however, I was moved to this, more English dominant, Anglican school where I remained to complete my schooling and when deciding where to place this Virtual, I wanted to place it at the grave of JRR Tolkien's father but that's in a yard that has been permanently locked up it seems. It then dawned on me that I could do quite an ode to my alma mater and so here it goes:
GZ will bring you to the Memorial Gates where Rememberance Day is celebrated annually. It is one of several interesting monuments of the school and holds most of the answers you will need to log this cache. It also serves as the entrance to the school at its current premesis. When formed, the school was hosted by the First Raadsaal which is now the wagon museum and host of quite a lovely cache itself (GC2MAMZ).
Just in time for the South African War (previously referred to as the Anglo-Boer War), the new premesis for the school was built which was quickly requisitioned by the British Army which was, following the war, turned back into a school. Only it didn't turn back into this school. It became Oranje Meisiesskool/Orange Girls School, which still occupies the premises. Many of the school's historic items remain on that campus such as a time capsule and school bells. This girls school, well known nationally for their great hockey ability, also sports fascinating history some of which can be read in a nearby cache (GC858MA)
The current location of the school was marshland but was develped and reopened the school in 1916. Since then, it has undergone a number of upgrades and my favourite is the story of a wealthy man who had no affiliation to the school whatsoever. He did, however, have a strong affiliation to a similarly named school in the Eastern Cape so when he bequethed a large sum to XX School instead of XX College, the money came to us. At least so the legend goes.
Speaking of legends, it was before my time there but I think the idea is awesome. To celebrate their last 40 days in school, the matrics would raid the gardens of the teachers who lived nearby and then following their final exams, would sell the items back to their teachers to raise money for vacation. I guess education paid well in those days.
Today, the school has seen a variety of interesting people call it their adolecent home from Springboks to erm, other people but I'm proud to have gone here and it makes sense that with that same pride, I hereby place the first virual cache in the Free State, right about here!
FTF Honours: xJuls
To log the cache you will need to:
(THERE IS NO NEED TO ENTER THE PREMESIS)
1. Add a photo of yourself or your mascot (or any other identifier) to your log (you don't have to include your face)
2. Send the answers to the following questions to the CO by either email or the GC messaging app:
2.1. What is the name of the school?
2.2. What is the Latin slogan of the school?
2.3. Looking just passed the entrance, what is the speed limit upon entering the school?
logs without accompanying submissions and/or photos will be deleted.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.