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Plumtree School is a private boarding school for boys in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe on the border with Botswana. Founded in 1902 by a railway mission, its famous headmaster Robert Woodward Hammond steered it into one of the leading schools in Southern Africa. Plumtree School boards approximately 400+ boys. A fair number of pupils who attend the school are from neighbouring Botswana, Zambia and South Africa. The original school consisted of only 9 pupils, the nine plums that appear on the school crest. Plumtree purportedly has the highest number of Rhodes Scholars for any one school in the world. The school has a thorough curriculum, adhering to Cambridge University's Ordinary Level and Advanced Level courses, and also has a thorough set of extra curricular activities as well. The students compete in many sports, it is mandatory that every student must play at least one sport each term. This rigorous regime has meant many students represent the country in various student sports, with many a captain among them. Other non traditional pursuits include among others a cattle club, a metalwork club and a motor mechanics course.
[edit] Historical backgroundIn 1897 a siding on the railway line between Mafeking and Bulawayo was named Plumtree. It lies on the watershed of the Western Matabeleland Highveld at an altitude of 1389 metres some 100 kilometres from Bulawayo. The School was founded by the Railway Mission largely to cater for the children of the employees of the old Cape Government Railways who were resident alongside the line between Mafeking and Bulawayo. The first classes were held in a rondavel situated in the garden of Mr. And Mrs. S. J. Smith whose 9 children formed the nucleus of the student body. Subsequently classes were moved to the dining room of the Plumtree Hotel which doubled as the Station Refreshment room. A little later a large room was made available in the customs house. In 1902 the school moved to the present site. The original 5-acre (20,000 m2) plot was steadily extended so that the school now occupies a 1 square kilometre site bordering on Plumtree village. Adjacent to the School is a 5 square kilometre tract of wooded land on which the School has developed dams and this forms a pleasant recreational area for the boys. The first school buildings consisted of 5 pole and daga huts. From these humble beginnings the School built up, not only in bricks and mortar, but in tradition and educational achievement. [edit] School crestThe School crest was designed in about 1909. The name Plumtree had to be incorporated and so there is the conventional tree in the middle with plums the size of water melons hanging among the foliage. The School was originally started as a school for the children of railway employees. Plumtree was the site decided upon because at that time, 1901, a railway family stationed there had many children of various ages and they almost made a school in and of themselves. Other children came from other railway sidings up and down the line. The nine plums represent the first nine students who attended the school in its first year. These students resided in the Hammond Huts as the main hostels were not yet built at that time. The connection with the railway is shown by the approaching engine, probably copied in the first place from the cover of a railway guide. The Railway Mission, Church of England, were the promoters and builders of the School and so the anchor is given to show the Church's place in its origin. The elephant is to denote that the School is in Matabeleland, for an elephant rampant is the badge of that province. The anchor represents the social link between the school and the community of Plumtree town affectionately know as "The Village". It symbolises a relationship that bonds the two parties in service to one another. The pictorial crest is placed above a scroll with the School motto - "Ad Definitum Finem" - "To a Definite End" [edit] Houses of Plumtree School The school is on an expansive campus at the edge of Plumtree town. It is divided is divided into houses:
and a boarding hall Hammond Hall (1976). Hammond Hall is a specifically for boys entering their first year of high school and serves as an introduction to the boarding life and general ethos of the school.In hammond hall the 'new boys' are instructed - in whatever way the seniors or hammond prefects deem necessary - in respect and the proper way to conduct themselves at any time thereafter, the boys 'graduate' to their main boarding houses in their second year. Each house is named after prominent individuals who fostered the school's progress to become one of the leading high schools in Southern Africa. [edit] TraditionsThe School is steeped in traditions, some of which are a century old. No Plumtree school boy,  member of staff or parent will likely forget the musical productions put on for the annual sports week-end in the first term. Juniors in their first year have compulsory auditions especially as one's unbroken voice was ideal to fill a leading female role or the seemingly predominantly female chorus! Plumtree's Gilbert and Sullivan productions were amongst very few amateur productions in the world permitted to be performed outside London. In recent years, some parents have been outspoken about school's allegedly outmoded system of fagging - where a first or second year boy waits upon and serves the senior boys, as a butler would performing menial tasks such as cleaning sports kit, tidying seniors' rooms(studies) etc.. However, this system - together with the general "privilege" system that underpins the school's ethos and sense of discipline - is carefully monitored by the staff, housemasters and prefects. Plumtree School's rigorous structure of traditions and concepts date back to similar styles found in pre-1900 British public schools, and lays the foundations of a young pupil's grooming. The privilege system was a system mainly used to, in a sense, give the younger boys something to look forward to, something to work towards and thus build character and discipline within the young man. eg. a prefect or an upper sixth student has the privilege to have his own room (study), where he sleeps and does his studies in private, whereas a form one student would sleep in a dormitory with all his other colleagues.  [edit] School systemThe school prides itself upon a 'seniority system' which is put in place to maintain discipline and provide a sense of order in general around the school. A system where prefects may delegate duties to younger boys and thus work together to achieve a certain goal. sometimes these privileges are abused by the seniors and some cases of bullying have been uncovered in recent years. [edit] DressStudents dressed in khakhi shirts and pants with knee-high grey socks and either black shoes or veldskoens to attend class and in general around the school. In winter, in addition, the boys would wear white undervests, grey jerseys with green stripes across the neck or the green and red school tacksuit. White floppy hats with the school badge were worn when needed. To chapel and special occasions (or going home for the weekend), students wore their Best Dress(No 1's). ie. a clean long sleeved white shirt(with sleeves rolled up to the elbows: for 3rd years and below), long grey flannels, short grey socks, polished black shoes and the mandatory green blazer. To the sports field: whites were mandatory and either shirt, t-shirt rugby jersey, vest or swimming truck depending on the sport being played. Students were required to leave their hostels in full tracksuit when going to the sports field. Prefects wore white instad of khakhi shirts to depict their leadership, black instead of grey flannels and a pin strip tie in place of the regular bold strip tie. [edit] Old PrunitiansAlumni of the school are referred to as Old Prunitians. The etymology of the word "Prunitian" is developed from the naming of a dried plum, a prune hence the term Prunitian. [edit] Notable alumni
[edit] See also[edit] External links
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