Staff Writer
HAROLD Cressy High School (HCHS) in District Six has been declared a Provincial Heritage Site under the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999.
During the forced removals under the dreaded Group Areas Act, the school and its staff and pupils remained at the forefront of resistance to apartheid.
Victor John Ritchie, who was the principal from 1963 to 1990, said in that 1985, the school played an active role in the school boycott and no teaching was done for four months, he said.
Seven senior teachers, including Ritchie, were suspended that year – but this did not deter them.
“The school continues to provide a very special and successful brand of values-based education,” he said.
Khalied Isaacs a former pupil and the current principal, said: “It is an accolade long overdue for the great teachers who made the success of the children possible in the many decades of the struggle for a democratic and just society.”
Shafick Ismail, the chairman of the Alumni Association which submitted the application for the declaration, said: “Amidst the devastation in District 6 as a result of the Group Areas Act, HCHS and the entire Cressy community withstood all forces to close down the school.”
A commemorative plaque will be unveiled on Heritage Day, September 24.