Dominican Convent High School (commonly referred to as Convent) 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 ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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, ...

school for girls in

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

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. One of the oldest established schools in

, Dominican Convent was founded in 1892 by Mother Patrick Cosgrave, an Irish

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

, with 10 pupils. The school was co-educational, but after ten years, a separate school, Hartmann House, was established for boys. Mother Patrick founded the Dominican Convent in Harare in 1892. She also started the first hospital in what was then

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. There is a museum commemorating her in the grounds of the Mukwati Building on Fourth Street in Harare, in what was the original hospital's mortuary.

Academic

The Dominican Convent is an all-girls school. The Primary school is run by Sister Irene and the High school by Sister Kudzai. There are three streams from Form 1 to Form 4. Form 1 to Form 2 follow the same curriculum consisting of English, Mathematics, Religious and Moral Education, Science, French, Shona, History, Geography, Art, Food & Nutrition, Fashion & Fabric, Computers, Education for Life, Music and Physical Education. Form 3 and 4 have a variety of subject options. In Form 3, the girls write a national paper called ZIMSEC for Shona and history (both being optional) and English language, which is compulsory. Cambridge 'O' Level Examinations are written at Form 4 Level. The Sixth Form has three streams: Business Administration, which focuses on tourism and secretary courses, Arts and Sciences. Cambridge 'A' Level Examinations are written at the end of Upper Six, with students now able to write the Cambridge 'AS' Level Examinations, at the end of their Lower Six year as of 2019. The Primary school caters for pupils of ages 5 – 13. These are formally called grades which start from grade 1 to grade seven. At grade seven pupils write a national exam called ZIMSEC. If the pupil passes with a pass usually known as 5 points or fail with a maximum of 25 points they are awarded a certificate. * Cambridge International Examinations for both IGCSE, O Level, AS and A Level * ZIMSEC O Level * City and Guilds

Sports

Dominican Convent offers sporting activities including athletics, basketball, field hockey, indoor hockey, golf, karate, soccer, swimming, tennis, rugby, squash, netball, volleyball, table tennis, and aerobics.

Cultural activities

The school offers various extra curricular activities including chess (one of the best girls' teams in the country), Quiz, Debate, Public speaking clubs (Gavel club, Toastmasters and Orators), First Aid, Choir (English choir and Shona choir) Lifeline, International Current Affairs, Interact and Wildlife.

Notable alumni

Maggie Chapman Maggie Chapman (born 27 June 1979) is a Scottish politician and lecturer who is a Scottish Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Scotland. She was co-convenor of the Scottish Greens from November 2013 to August 2019, s ...

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

, former Rector of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, former Co-convener of the

Scottish Green Party The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green party, green List of political parties in Scotland, political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 ...

Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward (née Coventry; born 16 September 1983) is a Zimbabwean politician, sports administrator and former competitive swimmer. She will become the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee in June 2025, being ...

- President-Elect of the International Olympic Committee,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and 2008 Olympic gold medalist *

Bona Mugabe Nyepudzayi Bona Mugabe (born 18 April 1988) is a Zimbabwean businesswoman. She is the only daughter of former and late Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Grace Mugabe, who also have two sons (Chatunga and Robert Jr.). She shares a name with ...

- daughter of former Zimbabwean President Robert Gabriel Mugabe *

Chipo Chung Chipo Tariro Chung (born 17 August 1977) is a Zimbabwean actress and activist based in London. Early life and education Chung was born as a refugee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Her given name Chipo means "gift" in the Shona language. She spent h ...

- actress; daughter of former

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

of Zimbabwe

Fay Chung Fay King Chung (born March 1941) is a Zimbabwean educator and was an independent candidate for the 2008 Zimbabwean general election, 2008 Zimbabwean senatorial election. Chung has worked to extend access to education and to bring education ...

* Haru Mutasa - journalist *

Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing ( Tayler; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British novelist. She was born to British parents in Qajar Iran, Persia, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where ...

- 2007

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

Laureate *

Danai Gurira Danai Jekesai Gurira (; born February 14, 1978) is a Zimbabwean-American actress, playwright, and activist. She is known for her starring roles as Michonne in the AMC horror drama franchise '' The Walking Dead'' and Okoye in Marvel Cinematic U ...

- actor and playwright *Sister Catherine Jackson - founder of the Dorothy Duncan Braille Library *Lisa Doris Armstrong - founder of Ugogo Africa

Achievements

Dominican Convent Harare was rated in the Top Ten High Schools in Zimbabwe. In 2010, the Lower Six Management of Business company, Lynx, came first in the national Junior Achievement competition. Lynx came third in the regional JA competition.

References

External links

Official Website - Dominican Convent HarareOfficial Website - Dominican Convent Primary Harare
{{Zimbabwe private schools Dominican schools in Zimbabwe Schools in Harare Educational institutions established in 1892 Girls' schools in Zimbabwe Girls' high schools in Zimbabwe High schools in Zimbabwe Cambridge schools in Zimbabwe Private schools in Zimbabwe Day schools in Zimbabwe Catholic secondary schools in Zimbabwe 1890s establishments in Southern Rhodesia 1892 establishments in the British Empire