St Boniface College is a private
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in the
Kavango East Region
Kavango East is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governing settle ...
of
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
, situated east of the regional capital,
Rundu
Rundu is the capital and the largest city of the Kavango-East Region in northern Namibia. It lies on the border with Angola on the banks of the Kavango River, about above sea level. Rundu's population is growing rapidly. The 2001 census counted ...
.
It is a
Roman Catholic Church
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 ...
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
.
St Boniface was founded in 1995 and named in honour of
Bonifatius Hausiku, the first Namibian
Catholic bishop
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy orders in the Catholic Church, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teachin ...
in Namibia; he later became an
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
.
St Boniface College is the top performing school in Namibia.
, the school had 306 students from grades eight to twelve.
Academic success
In recent years, St Boniface has been the top-performing school in the country. St Boniface students have made up the majority of the ten best performing
grade 12
Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final year of secondary school and K–12 ...
students in the country: nine of the top ten in 2010, five in 2011, seven in 2012,
and eight each in 2013,
2014, and 2018.
The success of the school is attributed to its principal, Mary Phillis Yesudasan, who has been described as "very strict, combined with a military leadership style."
She emphasises commitment from both teachers and students. Teachers at St Boniface regularly work until 10:30pm.
Long hair and romantic relationships are banned among students, and mobile phones are forbidden for students and teachers alike.
All the teachers in the school are from other countries, such as Kenya, Zimbabwe or India: according to Yesudasan, "no Namibian teacher has proven competent enough to comply with the stringent expectations she fosters."
In order to maintain high academic standards, students who fail a grade are not allowed back to the school.
Not all alumni of St Boniface College have had success at university, and the school has been criticised for not preparing students for the self-study necessary at tertiary level.
See also
*
Education in Namibia
Education in Namibia is compulsory until the year a learner turns 18.https://www.lac.org.na/laws/annoSTAT/Basic%20Education%20Act%203%20of%202020.pdf There are approximately 1900 schools in Namibia of which 100 are privately owned. Namibian s ...
*
List of schools in Namibia
, Namibia has 1,947 primary and secondary schools, up from 1,723 schools in 2013. These schools cater for a total of 822,574 pupils (2013: 24,660 teachers, 617,827 pupils). Most of the country experiences a shortage of schools, school hostels, a ...
*
Roman Catholicism in Namibia
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Boniface College
1995 establishments in Namibia
Boarding schools in Namibia
Co-educational boarding schools
Educational institutions established in 1995
Catholic secondary schools in Namibia
Schools in Kavango East