Cordwalles is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

, boarding preparatory school for boys founded in 1912. It is located in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

, the capital city of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, South Africa.

Origins

Cordwalles was founded in 1912 by the

Rt Revd The Right Reverend (abbreviated as The Rt Revd or The Rt Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian ministers and members of clergy. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend". Usage * In the Anglica ...

Samuel Baines, Bishop of Natal as a preparatory school for

Michaelhouse Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal, Balgowan valley in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Spear’s Schools Index 2025 reco ...

. It has grown considerably since its early beginnings as a boarding-only school and has had only seven headmasters. Cordwalles has an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

foundation.

Headmasters

* J. H. E. Besant, MA ( Oxon) (1912 – 1946) * J. D. Parmiter, MA ( Cantab) (1947 – 1956) * R. C. Brooks, MA ( Cantab) (1957 – 1984) * D. B. E. Bawden (1985 – 1995) * T. G. Evans (1996 – 2003) * S. J. Weaver (2004 – 2015) * L. Veenstra (2016 – present)

The school today

Cordwalles is a boys preparatory school, which educates boys from Grade RR (boys turning 5) to Grade 7 (boys turning 13). Cordwalles consists of fifteen hectares of ground, an 'Inky' (pre-school to grade 2) block and Lecture Room, Theatre, Science Laboratory, Design & Technology Centre and Computer and Media Centres. There are over 300 boys taught by an academic and support staff of over 50. Most leavers go on to attend local private senior schools such as Hilton College, Kearsney College,

Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a State school, semi-private English language, English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest boys' high school i ...

, St. Charles College and especially

History

Cordwalles Preparatory School was founded by Bishop Samuel Baines in 1912 when Michaelhouse moved from Pietermaritzburg to Balgowan and needing a preparatory school of its own to ensure its future enrolment. Cordwalles consisted of of land, a house and twelve boys. By 1917 the school encompassed of land, classrooms and dormitories. In the 1930s the chapel, gymnasium, swimming pool as well as additional classrooms, dormitories and land were added. During the Second World War numbers rose to one hundred and forty seven boys. From the 1950s further dormitories together with a Kitchen block, Sanatorium, and enlarged Dining Hall, Science Laboratory, Library and Staff Houses were constructed. The 1960s saw the development of the double storey block, the five sports fields and the four tennis courts.

Notable alumni

*Professor David H.M.Brooks (1961), philosopher and author of ''The Unity of the Mind'' * Gary Ralfe, former CEO of

De Beers The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

Robert Holmes à Court Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court (27 July 1937 – 2 September 1990) was a South African-born Australian businessman who became Australia's first billionaire, before dying suddenly of heart failure in 1990 at the age of 53. A great-gre ...

, Australia's first billionaire * Barry Streek, journalist *

Wilbur Smith Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Northern Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist specializing in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries. He gained a f ...

(1946), novelist *

Derek Varnals George Derek Varnals (24 July 1935 – 9 September 2019) was a South African cricketer who played in three Test matches in the 1964–65 season. The South African cricket commentator Charles Fortune described him as "a compact and correct pla ...

, cricketer * Timothy Woods, schoolmaster

External links

*
ISASA Schools Directory
{{Coord, 29, 35, 40, S, 30, 21, 43, E, type:edu, display=title, format=dms Anglican schools in South Africa Boarding schools in South Africa Primary schools in South Africa Private schools in KwaZulu-Natal Educational institutions established in 1912 1912 establishments in South Africa