When doing research for my previous blogs I often came across the name “Denneoord” and wondered what it refers to. The primary school I attended, Stellenbosch Primary, once had that name. What is the story of Denneoord and how does it fit into the Stellenbosch heritage?
The short answer is that Denneoord was the institution from which Boland College, developed, as recently as 1990. Many teachers in South Africa were trained at te Denneoord Teachers College.
Education in the settler's village (1700s - 1800s)
For the first 200 years Stellenbosch had a precarious school system. The town accommodated a number of private schools, public schools, English schools and Dutch schools, but money and resources were too scant to truly sustain a good school. Most of the small schools employed only one teacher and one 'ondermeester' (assistant teacher), and simply could not survive financially. A certain Mr Van Coppenhagen, for example, had to support a household of 16 people (his wife, 9 children and a number of other dependents) on his meager teacher's salary .
Politics also played a big role. In 1805 the school order was under Batavian rule, but in 1806 under British rule. Dutch public schools were terminated in 1828, and later a system of English free Public Schools couldn't make it.
Did you know? In the 1700s and 1800s teachers also got a yearly report card. On the report card the school commission indicated whether the teacher did his job, whether he attended school regularly, and whether he gave too much or too little corporal punishment.
In-house training of teachers (1800s - 1920s)
Most of the early Stellenbosch teachers studied abroad, but a system of kwekelingonderwysers (pupil teachers) existed, a common method of training until the 1920's. In this system teachers were basically trained by working under older, more experienced teachers at schools.
More often than not, the pupil teachers were simply senior learners in the school, and had to focus both on their own school work and their teachers' training. Certificates were introduced to measure the level of training, for example the Elementary Teachers' Certificate (introduced in 1872) and the Middel Class Certificate (1879). In 1893 a certain Dr Muir developed a new set of regulations for a Third Class certificate. Some of his criteria were:
- Candidates must be at least 14 years of age (the admission age used to be 13 yrs).
- At least 10 hours should be spent on practical training.
- The allowance is set at £12 (first year), £16 (second year) and £20 (third year).
- The course would last three years.
- At the end of every year students must complete an oral and written exam.
By 1906 there were already 2209 pupil teachers trained in the Cape Colony.
The founding of a college
One of Stellenbosch's first big schools, Bloemhof, decided in 1919 not to make use the kwekelingstelsel any more but to create their own training institute for the training of teachers. This institute was established in 1920 and called the Onderwyserskollege Denne-Oord.
The beautiful college in 35 Church Street was used for this purpose. The training institute was later moved to the Rozenburg-homestead in Van Riebeeck Street and ultimately relocated to Koloniesland, where Boland College is today. Why is it called Koloniesland?
A practice school
At the new Denneoord Teachers’ College the need developed for a small "practice school". In 1925, by the initiative of Miss Thierry, the first principal, a group of 5 small children was assembled and the Denneoord modelskool founded. When the teachers college relocated to the Rozenburg-homestead, the small school was also called Rozenburg Primary School.
In 1936 there were 45 children in the school and two full-time teachers, one for grades 1 -3 and the other for grades 4 – 8.
Stellenbosch primary school is founded
Twenty years later Stellenbosch parents expressed the desire to established a proper school in the eastern part of town, one that would allow a larger number of pupils than the small Denneoord school. Construction started and in 1969 the Denneoord school formally moved to the new building where it still stands today.
Did you know? The well-known author D.J. Opperman’s daughter attended Denneoord primary school, and Opperman decided to write their school anthem. Interestingly, his first version of the text was playful and simplistic, intended for children. Opperman had to rewrite the text in a more serious tone. Here is the words of the first anthem in Afrikaans. (source: biorgaphy of D.J. Opperman, by J.C Kannemeyer)
Op Stellenbosch
wip-wip ons voort,
eekhorinkies van Denneoord.
Ons samel kos
langs waterstroom,
en klim-klim
teen die hoogste boom.
Die uurglas sak,
maar in U lig
doen-doen ek slegs
vandag my plig.
*"Vandag my plig" is the school slogan.
College continues teaching
The Denneoord College trained teachers for many years, and formed strong bonds with other, similar institutions (such as the Wellington Onderwys Kollege and the Opleidingskollege Paarl). Apparently they hosted an annual camp in Jonkershoek, held quiz competitions and sometimes performed plays in the conservatorium’s hall.
Interesting fact: The Stellenbosch University choir was founded in 1936 by William Morris, who was a music lecturer at the Denneoord-Opleidingskollege.
Boland Kollege is formed
In the 1990's the rector of Denneoord, Mr Slabbert (previously a rector at Paul Room Gimnasium) ushered the college into a new era under the name OKB, or Onderwyskollege Boland. Mr Slabbert restored some of the historic residences and other buildings on campus, and the issue of distance-education reconsidered.
The Denneoord courses still ran until 1991, when it was fully phased out, after which the college reconsidered its policies with regards to demographics and culture. A few years later Boland College was amalgamated with 15 other existing colleges to form 6 large FET Colleges. Boland College now consists of 5 campuses, namely Caledon, Paarl, Strand, Worcester and Stellenbosch, of which Stellenbosch is the oldest.
If you have any anecdotes or memories about the Denneoord College or School, write to us! We would love to hear your stories!
