Westville Boys' High School

Westville Boys’ High School is a world-class South African institution that prepares its students for a rapidly changing global environment and has developed an enviable reputation for achieving all-round excellence in the education of its students. Despite its widespread recognition, the School has retained the community character for which it has become known since its inception. Westville Boys’ High School is a happy and productive school with considerable stakeholder involvement.

We believe in the value of a balanced, all-round education encompassing Academics, Sport, the Arts and Leadership. Across all these areas we are committed to nurturing in our boys the intellectual, creative and inter-personal skills which will be demanded of them in the rapidly changing, complex, uncertain and ambiguous world of today. Our ultimate aim is to develop our boys into respected and responsible young men who will add value to society in their lives and chosen careers.

Westville Boys’ High School has a proud record of academic achievement. Its reputation as a top school was built around academics during the first years of its existence. This reputation has now been enhanced by a high degree of success in sport, culture, service and leadership as well.

At WBHS teaching methodology in each subject is generally based on a questioning and interactive approach. The School also promotes the concept of collaborative learning as a skill that benefits all pupils. This is evidenced through classroom activities and the academic extension and academic support programmes offered outside of the timetable.

At WBHS a strong emphasis is placed on Mathematics and Science. The School does not subscribe to channelling pupils into subjects that may be regarded as softer options. Our emphasis on obtaining the highest possible number of pupils taking Maths and Science for matric allows pupils to extend themselves to their full academic potential and to maximise their opportunities in their chosen careers.

Westville pupils are regularly among the top performers in the annual National Senior Certificate examinations, both provincially and nationally. The School’s most recent top performer was Jarrod Staples who was placed second in the county in 2018. This achievement followed Asil Motala, who was the top matriculant in South Africa in 2013. He was the second Westville pupil to attain the number one spot in the country. Colin Bigg, in 1999, was the first to achieve this accolade. On eight occasions since the first matriculating class at the School in 1959, a Westville pupil has been the top placed matriculant in the province.

WBHS is a member of the Alan Gray “Circle of Excellence”. This network recognises a maximum of 100 schools in South Africa each year, both public and private, that are, among other things, committed to genuinely transforming South African society and who produce young graduates who have a hopeful and optimistic view of themselves, their country, their continent and the world. WBHS has been a member since 2008, the founding year of this prestigious network.

Westville Boys’ High School is proud of its world-class Aquatics Centre. It is the home of our championship winning swimming team, which is unbeaten across all galas it has competed in since 2008. The Aquatics Centre includes the Chad Le Clos Pool, which is a 30m x 35m pool with a uniform depth of 2.2m to cater for advanced swimming and water polo. This pool was funded from various sources including a grant from the National Lottery Board. This pool is the venue for the prestigious annual Westville Invitational Gala. The Centre also includes the Chad Ho Pool, which is a 25m x 25m pool financed more than 40 years ago through a partnership between the School and the ex-Natal Education Department.

We believe in the value of sport-for-all, career opportunities in Sport, and the positive influence of Sport on enhancing academic performance, emotional intelligence and resilience. We promote full participation, fair play, sportsmanship, commitment, teamwork, collaboration, resilience and year-on-year progression in the physical and inter-personal skills of our sportsmen. We also commit to tailoring our academic support, teaching and coaching programmes to the needs of high-performance sportsmen.

Westville Boys’ High School has established a fine reputation as a leader in the Performing Arts. The School aims at excellence in holistic education, and the Performing Arts is a major feature in the strategic mission of the School. In fact, this activity constitutes a definite point of difference in comparison to other boys’ schools.

A major production is staged three times per year. The productions are of the highest acting and technical quality and are not restricted to any specific genres. These have included Broadway musicals such as High School Musical 1 & 2, Oklahoma! and Guys & Dolls; serious dramatic plays such as The Crucible, Macbeth, Master Harold and the Boys, White Men with Weapons and A Few Good Men; as well as Shakespearean plays Macbeth, Hamlet and The Tempest. Musical revues along specific themes also showcase the singing and dancing talents of WBHS students. Cultural evenings, dance festivals and the annual Shakespeare Schools’ Festival presentations are also staged every year, exposing as many boys as possible to the very strong culture of Performing Arts at the school. For female roles, WBHS opens its auditions to budding actresses from a variety of local schools.