Alumni share memories as Willowmoore High celebrates 50th anniversary
The school was launched in 1974.
The 5FM content producer and Willowmoore High School alumnus, Michael Bower, couldn’t stop smiling as he reminisced about his time as a learner at the school.
Bower, who matriculated in 2005, joined other graduates as they shared their fondest memories at the school’s 50th anniversary celebration on April 13.
He joked that he shared his first kiss on the hockey fields and that created a mini-scandal as the girl he shared it with was not in the school.
He said his exploits on the hockey field and as part of the debating society were his greatest memories at Willowmoore.
“I was involved in debating and hockey. Debating was fun because we were always put in a league where it was hard in the beginning and difficult at the end. Hockey was always hard,” said Bower.
The 1989 deputy head boy Darrel Chapman’s emotions took over while walking through the school’s corridors and shed tears of joy while looking at the boards of honour in the main administrative building.
“It’s just all the good memories. It was an interesting and fun time. We were a technical school back then. There were lots of boys than girls, which was not great for us. It’s a good school and lots of us have moved on and become successful,” said Chapman.
The celebration included informal tours, a family fun day where the learners, parents and educators enjoyed activities such as ironman, netball, and football, as well as debating and basketball.
Principal of Willowmoore High Lorna Sanders said they went from being a whites-only school, which was started in 1974, to being inclusive and accommodating learners of different cultural and language backgrounds in 1994.
“Over the years, we’ve seen many changes. We’ve seen changes in governments, and education programmes and every time these changes happened, people were saying Willowmoore wouldn’t survive, nothing is going to be the same and everything is going to degenerate into chaos.
“Fifty years on, none of that came true. The school is still here, educating children and producing doctors, lawyers and UN representatives.
“We are managing the changes. It’s been interesting to see how we came from an apartheid-era school with white-only learners and educators to a fully integrated society.
“We’ve learnt to navigate this rainbow nation. It hasn’t been an easy path but we have learnt so much about ourselves. We are passionate about educating learners for the future here at Willowmoore.
“Knowing that the children go out into the world with the necessary skills and can get jobs and flourish, warms our hearts,” Sanders said.
Bower’s mother, Vanessa, said the school’s academic reputation and ethos were the reasons three of her children are products of Willowmoore High.
“Willowmoore was famous for its English and technical subjects. We brought our children here because of the school’s ethos and every learner was encouraged to participate. All three of my children got involved with everything,” she said.
The chairperson of the RCL, Heritage Famakinwa, said it was special to lead the school in its milestone year.
“I hope to follow in the footsteps of the leaders who came before us. Thank you to them for laying a foundation for us to build on because, without this, it would have been difficult for us. They’ve steered us in the right direction and hopefully, we can pass it on to the next generation,” she said.
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