About us

About us

A BRIEF HISTORY OF EFFINGHAM SECONDARY

The name ‘Effingham’ takes its name from ‘Effingham Estate’ that, in years gone by, was situated near Avoca. The owners of Effingham Estate, Messrs. Wheeler and Hadden, cultivated coffee on the estate before turning to the cultivation of sugar in 1876. Indian labour, like everywhere else in the province, was used on the estate. In time, Effingham Estate was absorbed by Natal Estates Limited.

Effingham, and the neighbouring areas of Avoca and Red Hill, came to be populated by people of Indian origin. This was to be expected, since Indian labourers worked on the sugar and coffee estates in these areas.

When the Group Areas Act was passed in 1950, the National Party government in power ordered that Effingham retain its Indian character.

As the population of Effingham grew, the need for a secondary school grew likewise. An appeal was made to the authorities for the construction of a secondary school, and one was eventually built for the people of Effingham. The school opened its doors to the community in January 1983, although it was only in September of that year that parents voted to call the school ‘Effingham Secondary’.

The school began its existence with a learner population of 386 and a staff complement of twenty. Mr. C. Nankissoor assumed duty as the first principal. From those humble beginnings, a long journey was to begin. Today, the school is 38 years old, and the future beckons ever so brightly.

Our Mission

We shall strive to promote the physical, mental, psychological and cultural development of all learners through a combination of meaningful academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in an educational environment that is healthy, safe, caring, trusting and challenging.

We shall strive towards the achievement of a high degree of excellence among all our learners, and to ensure that our daily interactions with all stakeholders reflect the fine traditions of the cultures of society at large so that we will always discriminate between righteousness and evil, and act accordingly.

Our Vision

To become the leading school in KwaZulu-Natal through the provision of quality education to all learners who attend our school, and to offer excellent service delivery to our clients through effective and coherent leadership among all stakeholders.

About our logo

The school’s monogram and motto- ‘THINK, LEARN, LEAD’- was adopted in 1987.

The SHIELD

The shield, which forms part of the monogram, is symbolic of achievement and protection.

The eagle

The eagle symbolises the power of the school in bringing knowledge [through the book] to the learner.

The torch

The torch is symbolic of enlightenment. It leads one from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge.

The rays

The rays from the torch symbolise spreading light, which eliminates darkness. This is a symbol of the triumph of knowledge over ignorance.

SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

Despite the lack of sporting facilities many of our students have excelled at provincial level in various codes of sport. One learner in particular, RIVASH GOBIND, played for and is currently assistant cricket coach for the KZN Dolphins. A further two learners play cricket for the Dolphins B- side.

We are also proud of BUYANI NGCOBO who has brought honour to the school through being a gold medalist in the 1500m and 5000m race at the Midmar Dam Aquatic Championships. Buyani is also a renowned lifesaver.

SOHAIL SEWPERASD [VOLLEYABLL-2016] played for KZN Volleyball in the SA Volleyball Champs, KEETAN STEENKAMP [CHESS 2016 / 2017] played for KZN Chess at the SA Champs and KAIRAV MAHABEER [SWIMMING 2017] represented KZN Swimming at the SA Swimming Champs in Polokwane.

A large number of our learners have also excelled at club and / or developmental level in codes such as soccer, volleyball, swimming, karate, Indian dance, and drama.

STAFFING

There are at present 31 members on the academic staff, comprising the Acting Principal, Four Departmental Heads and 22 level one educators. Of the 31 educators, 27 are employed by the state whilst 8 are employed by the SGB [1 Maths educator is paid by The Epoch & Optima Trusts – our external Funders]. There are also 5 members on the administrative staff, four of whom are paid by the SGB. The other member of staff is paid by the state. Of the 5 members on the administrative staff, one functions as Finance Clerk and one functions as a school counsellor. The school also has a maintenance staff of 6 people. Five of whom are paid by the SGB.

CURRICULUM

Effingham Secondary is proud of the fact that it offers over 15 courses to its Grade 10-12 learners which extends to a variety of career opportunities. [Refer to Grade 9 Course Selection Documents on our school website] The curriculum is varied to cater for the diverse needs of the learners we serve.
 
 
In the Senior Phase all our learners offer a two-language curriculum [English HL with IsiZulu FAL or Afrikaans FAL]. In the FET Phase IsiZulu HL is offered to mother tongue IsiZulu learners.

LEARNER WELFARE AND SAFETY

The school has the following features to ensure learner welfare and safety. A qualified counsellor and Covid 19 Points person , A discipline officer who is roving around the school . A gate control guard , cleaning assistants for disinfecting and sanitizing the school facilities ensuring safety and hygiene protocols. A screener to maintain Covid protocols , a school Discipline Safety and Security Committee (DSSC) compromising of parents and educators.

FACILITIES AT OUR SCHOOL

Facilities at Effingham Secondary include a school hall which is used to host special assemblies and serves as the examination venue for the NSC Examinations.

A media centre for e- learning, two science laboratories ( Physical Sciences and Life Sciences) , specialist rooms for Dramatic Arts ,Hospitality Studies and Geography.

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES.

The school has an excellent co – curricular record with clubs including the religious associations, Interact Club, Environmental Club , Maths club , Geography Society , Youth Desk , Art Club, Book Club and is in the process of launching the Debating Society. Our school has produced and currently have learners who have achieved provincial and national colours in debating and other sporting codes.
 

 

We are actively involved in participating the Spelling Bee competition, Maths competitions and olympiads ,  Commerce & Science olympiads and the South African National Geography  Olympiad .

CONCLUSION

Effingham Secondary, in keeping with its Vision and Mission Statement, is committed to a culture of learning and teaching. Like many public schools in our beloved country, it has of late become susceptible to the changes in learner conduct. This has become something of a challenge for the school. But it is a challenge that we shall rise to meet.
 
 
We say to all who will listen: we shall not sacrifice our excellence and our vision on the altar of learner misconduct.
 
We commit ourselves to the future of our country and to the transformation of our society.

GRADE 12 RESULTS [SINCE 1999]

The school has a proud track record in the National Senior Certificate Examinations. The average pass rate since 1999 has been 95%. The average Bachelors [exemption] pass rate has been 65%. This pass rate could be much higher were it not for the fact that every matriculant writes for a Bachelors [exemption]. 2007 saw a 98% matric pass rate. Our top matriculant in 1999, Subedra Reddy, was placed second in the province and first in what was then the North Durban Region. In 2001, our top matriculant, Vicky Gounden, was placed seventh in the province. The school also obtains, on average, 120 subject distinctions. Also on average each year 2 of our learners are accepted into the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine. Countless others proceed to tertiary institutions, to commence study mainly in the faculties of engineering, science, law and commerce. The years, 2002/2003/2004/2005/2006/2007 has seen excellent Matric Results.

In 2008 NSC Exams, Kameshnie Govender was placed third in the Province and was the Province’s Best Science Student. 2009 was yet another excellent academic year for us. We produced a 95% pass rate with at least six learners scoring seven or more distinctions and 139 subject distinctions overall.

2010 learners produced excellent results – 96% pass rate with six learners attaining a full seven distinctions or more. The 2011 NSC results saw a 99.02% pass rate- again excellent results. The 2012 results showed a slight decline to 89% and in 2013 we attained a 97.4% pass rate whilst 2014 results was 91.5%.  The 2015 results were most disappointing – 86% [the lowest in 20 years]. 2016 results were 90.5% , 2017 we attained 92.25% and last year despite the pandemic we attained 92.2 % pass rate. In 2020 , Dipika Somaroo featured in the top ten matriculants in KZN- The National Minister of Education congratulated her on National Television for being placed in 1st position among all Quintile –four ranked schools in the country. This year,we are hoping to reach that 100% we are all yearning for.

Ready to Grow?

We shall strive to promote the physical, mental, psychological and cultural development of all learners through a combination of meaningful academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in an educational environment that is healthy, safe, caring, trusting and challenging.

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