07 December 2021
Lindie Dube
St. Columbus High School, an Anglican Church run educational institution located in Bulawayo’s oldest township Makokoba, was awarded with the Secretary’s Bell for the the year 2018.
The School was nominated for the award in 2018, but due to logistical issues the award was presented three years later.
This is the school’s 3rd accomplishment since its establishment 42 years ago.
In 2018 the School obtained 92,1%passrate in O’level the A’level got 93,3%.
In the sport of basketball, a student from the school was selected into the National Basketball team and will be participating at the AUSC games in Lesotho.
Meanwhile the Junior Parliamentarian for Makokoba constituency , and acting Junior President of Zimbabwe is a student from the St. Colombus High school.
The Secretary’s Bell is a prestigious award given annually to an all-round excelling school in the fields of academics, sports and extra curricular activities.
The school was given a cash price of ZW $1 300 000.
The prize money is meant to procure digital equipment for the learners and construction of a smart classroom.
Meanwhile the School headmaster was given two prices as token of appreciation, a Certificate of Appreciation and A Tablet Mobile.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of education Primary and Secondary Education, Mrs T. Thabela was speaking at St Columbus High School in Bulawayo where she awarded the Secretary’s Bell for 2018.
“We are here today to celebrate a great milestone that signifies excellence in education provision …
I challenge schools in this province and other provinces to learn and in equal measure or even challenge St. Columbus’
The more we have schools that fulfill the Ministry’s mandate to the level that we give an award, the better our Zimbabwean community is going to be.” Said Mrs. Thabela.
She continued to say that Secretaries Bell Award is one of the Ministry’s supervision and motivational strategies aimed to help the ministry improve the way we offer services to all our clients.
“We move as a team, provisionals, departments to take education to greater heights.” She continued
No one should be left behind that, is the direction the whole country is taking, our own country is taking.”
She said it is always heartwarming to see how local schools remain as symbols of the future, as symbols of what is possible.
The award re-enforces and recognises hard work and achievements.
The Ministry’s thrust is to ensure that all schools offer a holistic competence driven curriculum, that equips learners with relevant knowledge both hard and soft skills.
She added that
“As a ministry we are saying we want to institutionalize the issue of fields training through coming up with technical schools.”
The school managed to adminster a solar system in the admin block to the tune of ZW1,496 000.00 dollars this has enabled administration offices to remain operational beyond loadshedding.
In an interview with Zim GBC News the School headmistress Mrs U. Ndebele said;
“I feel full-filled , its not only the third award am going for contention again then l retire happily
Our vision as a school is to continue offering a holistic and sound education system to our students.“
Thembalami Moyo a lower six student in an interview said;
“We are thriving because our teachers are comitted to our education, and this is a mission school were there is the presence of God. We work hard and pray hard.”
Zim GBC New