Chisipite Senior School (or Chisipite) is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

single-sex secondary

day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

and

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: **Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where hor ...

school for girls, located in

Harare, Zimbabwe Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metropolitan province. The city is situa ...

. The school is sited on of land with 75+ academic staff and 750 girls (of whom 40 girls are boarders) enrolled. Chisipite Senior School was ranked 67th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumnae, school profile, internet and news visibility. Chisipite Senior was also ranked as one of the Top 10 High Schools in Zimbabwe in 2014. Chisipite Senior School is a member of the

Association of Trust Schools The Association of Trust Schools (ATS) is an organisation of independent primary and secondary schools in Zimbabwe that was founded in 1962. Each of these schools are run by their own Board of Governors and are not for profit entities. The Heads ...

(ATS) and the

Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (abbreviated as AGSA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes the education of girls in single-sex girls' schools, and promotes the image of, and support the development of, girls' schools in Australa ...

; and the Head is a member of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe (CHISZ).

Overview

Chisipite Senior School was opened in 1954 to cater for students who had finished their primary education at Chisipite Junior School. Initially, the school had two members of staff and 48 girls. Chisipite Senior School is "the first inter-denominational private girls school in Central Africa". The name of the School, Chisipite, is derived from a spring rising in a nearby vlei. "Chisipiti" is the

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people ** Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today ** Shona languages, a wider group of languages defined in the early 20th century ** Kingdom of Zimbabwe, a Shona stat ...

word for spring. It has also inspired the fountain badge and the motto "Fons vitae caritas".

Houses

Chisipite Senior School has a

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...

consisting of 4 competitive houses which are Spring, St Paul, Patrons and Anderson. The houses compete in various sporting and cultural activities.

Sport

The following sporting disciplines are available at Chisipite:

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, cross country,

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

indoor hockey Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

. The school's sport facilities include twelve tennis courts, two squash courts, three basketball, courts, three indoor hockey pitches, three volleyball courts, field facilities for up to four hockey and soccer fields and a swimming pool suitable for waterpolo and synchronized swimming.

Clubs and societies

The school has a variety of clubs and societies on offer and they are: Art Club, Authentic Voices of Africa, Bridge Club, Chess Club, Conservation Club, Current Affairs Club, Debate, Drama Club, Eloquence Society, First Aid,

Interact Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and pe ...

, Jesus Is For Everyone, Listeners, Mathematics Club,

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

, Orators Society, Science Club, Quiz Club and Toastmasters Society. All girls are expected to be a member of at least one club or society.

Performing arts

Drama

Pupils in the drama are exposed to numerous workshops, theatre outings, plays and literary evenings to help develop their skills. Annually, a Speech and Drama Eisteddfod is held to test their abilities. Pupils also participate in the

Harare International Festival of the Arts The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) is one of Africa's largest international arts festivals. Established in 1999 by Manuel Bagorro the festival takes place each year in late April or early May in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. T ...

and the NIAA (National Institute of the Allied Arts) festivals.

Music

There are many orchestras, groups and choirs encompassing classical, ethnic and modern music. These include Authentic Voices of Africa choirs, Chapel choirs, Clarinet choir, Drums, Flute choir, Guitar Club, Glee Club, Jazz Band, Junior and Senior Choirs, Madrigals, Marimba Bands, Mbira, Strings Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra and Wind Band. Every year, various musical presentation evenings are held such as the Madrigals evening, Piano evening, Strings evening, Vocal evening, AVA extravaganza, Guitar evening, Wind evening and so forth. A School Musical production is held annually and pupils perform in the Carol Service. The school also offers

ABRSM The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualificat ...

qualifications for pupils who intend to gain formal qualifications in music.

Fontanians

The alumni of the Chispite Senior School are referred to as ''Fontanians''.

Notable Fontanians

* Berry Bickle – Zimbabwean artist * Brooke Bruk-Jackson – Zimbabwean model, beauty pageant titleholder, and Miss Universe Zimbabwe 2023 *

Kudzai Sevenzo Kudzai Sevenzo is a Zimbabwean actress and singer born in Harare, Zimbabwe. She was recognized as a talented performer by actor Nyambi Nyambi Jr. Career background Kudzai Sevenzo's career was launched by the African media house MNET on the ...

– Zimbabwean singer, actress, television personality * Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa – Zimbabwean radio and television talk show host * Marjorie Ngwenya – British-Zimbabwean actuary * Gemma Griffiths – Zimbabwean singer-songwriter

References

External links

*
Chisipite Senior School Profile
on the

ATS ATS or Ats may refer to: Businesses * ATS Wheels (''Auto Technisches Spezialzubehör''), a German wheel manufacturer and sponsor of a Formula One racing team * ATS Automation Tooling Systems, an Ontario, Canada-based factory automation company * ...

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