Pretoria - When headmistress Penny McNair drives out the gate of Pretoria High School for Girls for the last time this weekend, she may be sad but she won’t be looking back.
For this pragmatic head leaves the prestigious school in shipshape form, having nurtured it through a period of significant transformation, and she now looks forward to having time to do other things.
McNair has been involved in the school’s top management for more than 20 years – as a deputy head and for 11 years as headmistress.
She agrees that it has been a particularly significant period, running parallel with South Africa’s first 20 years of democracy.
When the school opened in 1902 in the Staats Model School building (now Hamilton Primary), its first headmistress, Edith Aitken, expressed in her mission statement “the earnest hope that here girls of different races and different denominations might meet in that commonwealth of letters which gave Erasmus and Shakespeare to the world”.
Although the school was to build an enviable reputation as a centre of academic and other excellence over the next century, it was only when it became a Model B school during the 1990s that it could determine its own admissions policy and start to fulfil that charter.
McNair has reason to be proud that the school she leaves is significantly changed from the one she arrived at as a young teacher of natural sciences (biology) during the era of Beryl Mullins.
She is quick to point out that the core values remain, but the school of 2014 has 1 465 girls – it is not only the numbers that have grown, but the entire make-up of the school in terms of its diversity.
While acknowledging that managing transition was the single biggest challenge, McNair is self-effacing when describing her management style which created the atmosphere in which such significant change could take place successfully. She is also quick to share the kudos for creating the PHSG of today with local education authorities, the broader community, staff, parents and generations of girls who’ve passed through the school’s gates.
“I do hope I managed change, including the increase in the size and complexity of a modern school, while meeting individual needs of the staff and the girls and keeping it (the school) harmonious,” she says.
“It has been a time of tremendous change… from the make-up of the school and the increase in numbers, to managing a multimillion rand budget, the advances in technology and improving infrastructure such as the IT centre and computer labs, and building an astro.”
Of course, building IT centres or a hockey astroturf was not on McNair’s mind 20 years ago but, as with any school, needs change over time and it is important to protect what one has – which in the case of PHSG; is a historic school building set in beautiful gardens and a reputation for excellence – while adding what is necessary to meet modern demands and the status of a flagship school.
In some ways it is ironic that it is the astroturf that bears McNair’s name as this was “never part of my plan”, although she is happy that it came to fruition during her time.
Everything achieved was a balancing act and achieved by consensus and with the support of the whole management team, she says.
“We wanted to maintain the character of the school and only do what was financially viable… I’ve been very conscious of being fair in the distribution of funds to upgrade academics, culture and sport,” says McNair, whose time has also seen the introduction of an orchestra programme, arts centre, basketball, volleyball and water polo facilities.
While McNair stresses the all-round nature of what’s on offer at PHSG, it is the school’s reputation for academics and its consistent ranking as one of the top state schools in Gauteng and top 25 in South Africa – which drives applications from parents eager to give their daughters the chance to attend.
Measurement is unavoidable in education, but McNair says she does not place too great a store on it.
For example, when it comes to the debate around South Africa’s low ranking in maths and science, she asks who South Africa should be measured against without taking into account the history of the country and that history’s impact on education.
“Yes,” she says, “we’re faced with a huge challenges with maths and science, but I don’t like benchmarking against foreign countries.” Rather, what is needed is to ensure teachers have the depth of knowledge required in their subjects, and that they – as with any subject – are taught in such a way that those in the class grasp the concepts being explained.
The curriculum is another problem area for McNair who sees it as “ruled by date and assessments”.
There is often so much content that teachers and children feel rushed with little time to go back over important concepts.
Schools like PHSG have always taught beyond the curriculum, but McNair feels strongly that there needs to be more debate about what content is essential and how much time is allocated to ensure children understand it properly before moving on to the next chapter.
“We do have a very strong focus on academics, but one of the greatest assets of this school is the girls have choices – they can study hard, play sports; learn to work in teams, to stand up and speak eloquently, and they have the basics of entrepreneurship…” – all skills which can help them in their future lives.
McNair says while the school rewards individual excellence, her philosophy is that one should not reward children for everything they do. This brings McNair to the spirit of volunteerism. “Children should do things for others, not for reward or to get something in return, but because they want to from the heart.”
McNair recalls with a smile that in the past, Girls High sent wrong-doers to “volunteer” at an old-age home, although many came to enjoy it and did not see it as punishment.
The school maintains its social activation Contact Club and annual jersey drive. And although she knows girls don’t actually knit jerseys as may have happened in decades past, she is happy the school still collects more than 1 500 items of warm clothing a year to give to those in need.
Girls High is fortunate to attract good teachers, and it expects them to work hard too. They need to be knowledgeable in the subjects they teach and be sensitive to the pastoral role of teachers which extends beyond the classroom.
She is saddened that for some parents, getting their child registered in a good school seems sufficient. She understands that mothers today are likely to be working and have less time, but finds it hard to comprehend that “some parents expect us to do everything; from discipline to getting their girls to places, to checking their clothing”.
“Despite technological and other advances, girls between 13 and 18 remain vulnerable and exposed to more negative influences than ever. If they are to make hard choices they need to be nurtured with care and understanding, something which they cannot learn at school alone,” says McNair who believes an involved parent benefits their child.
But there are also heartfelt words for the amazing parent body which has helped and supported her – some even staying on long after their daughters have left the school.
Another personal challenge for McNair has been the rapid pace of technological advance. To introduce appropriate technology in a school is difficult and costly, but she is satisfied that Girls High has embraced technology as a tool which can benefit teachers and girls. But, for her, it must be used in conjunction with traditional teaching methods “including board and chalk” that have served the school so well for more than 100 years.
To achieve in life, everyone needs support, and McNair credits the staff she has worked with, including those who mentored and befriended her, Girls High’s governing body, the University of Pretoria, fellow school principals (including at Boys High and Meisies) and those she reports to in the Gauteng Department of Education. She believes that the retention of the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga in her portfolio in President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet is a positive sign for education and is proud to call herself an employee of a state school.
She has also been fortunate to have understanding, support and practical help throughout her career from her husband Jock, two sons Grant and Craig, and close friends. Jock has been preparing their new home in Howick for her retirement, and she says that after 22 years living at the school, she is excited to have a place to call her own again.
The McNairs plan to travel, including seeing the Namaqualand flowers and hike in the Drakensberg. She would also like to give something back to teaching in due course and believes her skills and experience in school management could help a rural school sometime in the future.
Meanwhile, she’s happy her able deputy, Karen du Toit, will take the reins at Girls High until a new principal is appointed. “It’s time,” she says, “for a new head for a new period. You can’t have the same person in the driving seat for too long.”
* Boje is editor of the Pretoria News and an old girl of the PHSG
Pretoria News