The School had its first intake at beginning of 1959 for about 30 or so learners, in a small hall built of mud by the local community. The first group was taught by one teacher for a few months, and he was replaced by Mr Lamfit of St Marks. The latter taught all subjects except Afrikaans as he did no know it. She was a Ms Sobekwa who had apparently been from Johannesburg. Mr Lamfiti can be regarde
d as the first principal. The building developed a large crack on the back (southern wall), and we were moved to a rondavel that contained broken desks in Wodehouse Primary School, where some of the desks were repaired for the female learners, and the boys had to sit on the floor for about three months while the building was being repaired. At the start of 1960, Form 2 was established, and two teachers replaced Mr Lamfiti. One was Mr Lujabe as Principal and Mr Rozani as his assistant. The two continued to 1961. Paramount Chief Kaizer Daliwonga was the brains behind the establishment of the School, and he was the Traditional Head of Emigrant Tembuland (AbaThembu baseRhoda), hence the name of the School. There were no hostels then, and all were day scholars. Daliwonga Senior Secondary School at Wodehouse Village in the small rural town of Cofimvaba located in the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality within the Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa traces its origin to 1972 when a proper school facility was built in the premises of the then Rhoda High School. The school was re-named Daliwonga Senior Secondary School from the founding name Rhoda High School which was established in 1959 . It is a public secondary school serving rural communities in the Eastern Cape Province. The school is entirely black African in both its educator and learner complement. It is classified as quantile 2 no-fee school. A most significant turning point occurred in 1972 when the proper structure (buildings) was opened. The school became a boarding school for both girls and boys leaners and continued attracting learners from across the country. This trend continued until the early 1990s when the learners coming from outside the Eastern Cape Province started dropping, amongst others, attributed to the wave of transformation in the politics of the country thus impacting the education system. This phenomenon can also be attributed to the deteriorating boarding facilities (girls hostel gutted down by fire) in the school. Generations of Daliwonga Senior Secondary School leaners have been fortunate to go through the tutelage and guidance of excellent teachers as well as the support of other non-teaching staff. As a result, former students of the school have excelled in varied pursuits spanning business or commerce, law, science and engineering as well as health sciences, academia, politics, government administration, culture and sport. The school is serving predominantly rural communities with learners fed from the local Junior Secondary Schools. Employment opportunities for the parents of Daliwonga Senior Secondary School learners are drawn mostly from local retail shops, government institutions (municipalities, government departments and agencies, teaching positions, hospitals and clinics etc.). A significant number of the parents are migrant labourers distanced from their children for the rest of the academic year thus playing very little influence in the academic development and support ought to be given to their children at home. This has a significant negative impact on learner progression. The other significant number of parents support their children’s education using government social grants, thus making the school more susceptible to non-payment of fees.
