The historic Afrikaans school that produced Zola Budd, Amanda Coetzer, and South Africa’s first female advocate
Die Christelike & Nasionale Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje, based in Bloemfontein and known as Oranje for short, has produced many of South Africa’s most influential women.
It was founded in 1907, in the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer War, when Free State President Marthinus Theunis Steyn decided to rebuild the local community through women’s education.
Steyn believed that the survival of the Free State and its people depended on education, and therefore announced that it would be his life’s work to support this.
The school first opened its doors with 35 girls and seven teachers, led by its first principal, Elizabeth le Roux.
It was located on the premises of what had previously operated as a military hospital during the Anglo-Boer War.
The school’s “Oranje” name is a tribute to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who provided financial aid and sympathy to Steyn and the rest of the Free State after the war.
Steyn contributed to the school by gifting his own family crest as the official school badge.
He also delivered a speech that included the following famous statement:
“Give a woman religion, respect, and faith in the good, the noble, and the sacred, and she stands as firm as a rock. If the opportunity arises, she will become a heroine.”
This would become the vision upon which the school would grow and thrive, as the school would produce many women who would fit the mantle of “heroine.”
The first such heroine was Steyn’s daughter, Gladys.
She was one of the school’s first pupils in 1907, became its first matriculant and head girl, and returned at the age of 25 to be its headmistress.
Even more notably, Steyn went on to qualify as South Africa’s first-ever female advocate.
Isabella Visser, who would matriculate from the school in 1911, became South Africa’s first female senator, while Leonora van den Heever (matriculated 1942) became South Africa’s first judge and first appellate judge.
The school also produced trailblazing military figures, including Hilda Burnett – the first female colonel and first female base commander in the South African Army – and Joan van der Poel, who was the first woman promoted to Major General in the South African Military.
It is therefore nearly impossible to write the history of trailblazing women in South Africa without naming someone who studied at Oranje.
A thriving institution
Oranje continues to offer students a comprehensive educational experience to this day.
It has a track record of excellence across all three areas of the schooling journey: academics, sport, and culture.
Academically, the school consistently achieves excellent matric results, including an unbroken chain of 100% matric pass rates.
Its Dux students routinely achieve overall averages deep into the 90% range, and 2021 was a particularly impressive year for the school, ranking 17th in South Africa for distinctions per learner.
The school is a preeminent sporting institution, regularly dominating both regionally and nationally in its major sports.
In 2022, it achieved a rare triple crown by becoming national champions in netball, hockey, and tennis in the same year.
Oranje also hosts the annual Super 12 Hockey Tournament, which brings the country’s top 12 under-18 school teams to Bloemfontein. It has regularly won this event.
Many historic sportswomen, including tennis legend Amanda Coetzer, cross-country and 5,000m runner Zola Budd, and the world-record holder for the most goals in international women’s hockey, Pietie Coetzee, come from Oranje.
Performing arts are another area of strength for Oranje, including being the first school in South Africa to offer Drama as an official matric subject.
The school has also won national choir and vocal ensemble competitions, including in 2023.
It has produced playwrights like Saartjie Botha and Reza de Wet, the latter being South Africa’s most awarded playwright ever.
Oranje Photos
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