Namib High School Swakopmund

At the beginning of this century there was no formal education available for the children of Swakopmund and parents’ own attempts were not always satisfactory. Eventually, in 1912, the Town Council initiated proceedings which led to a new school of 126 pupils being opened on 18 October 1913. This was the Städtische Realschule mit Grundschule – the birth of today’s proud school. For the next fifty

years, this school changed languages, grades and names. Thankfully, from 1963 a period of stability came for the school, then named Swakopmund High School. It was unique in the then South West Africa, if not in Southern Africa, in that English, Afrikaans and German speaking children attended classes together, and it was renowned for high standard of education. In 1976 due to the opening of Rössing Mine huge development in the infrastructure of the town was experienced. New schools were needed and they were established along language and cultural preference lines. This school became a German medium secondary school called the Deutsche Oberschule Swakopmund. The advent of Independence for Namibia was the next big step in the school’s history. The doors were now open to all Namibian children. The medium of instruction was English, with German a compulsory subject. The school has maintained its standard of excellence, and still stands by its promise to strive to do so in the future. As if to prove this point, the learners produced the best Higher Level results in Namibia for the past years. But this was by no means the final chapter in the history of the school’s name. Even though it had changed 5 times in its over 90-year history, it never lost sight of its goal – to offer the best academic education in Namibia. When the Cabinet announced its decision in 1997 that any ethnic or language group connotations be removed from the names of public buildings and institutions, it was not seen as a problem, but another chapter in the history books. It was to history that the community turned for a new name. The Namib is the oldest desert in the world and, from its tiny beginnings as the Städtische Realschule, this is the oldest school in the Namib Desert. The logical step came with the inauguration of the new name – Namib High School on 7 July 1997. Also, in keeping with the resilience of the Welwitschia, the symbol in the badge, the school entering a partnership, still stands by its calling to be a centre of excellent academic education and its future will be one of steadfast growth.