The National Girls Schools Festival, also known as the “ALL GIRLS” festival took place over the long weekend, from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 April, at Eunice Girls’ School in Bloemfontein. Rustenburg was well represented in this year’s festival, the first since pre-covid, as seven teams travelled to Bloemfontein to compete among some of the best in the country.
Rustenburg entered seven teams: Cross Country (6 learners), Debating (3 learners), Hockey (15 learners), Master Chef (2 learners), Netball (10 learners), Squash (4 learners) and Tennis (4 learners). A member of staff accompanied each team. Ten staff members, including RGHS Principal, Mr Gates were part of the trip to Bloemfontein. The learners had an incredible time, taking away some great learnings from the competition. All results from all schools can be found here.
| Mr. Gates (Principal) & Mrs. Lekgothoane (Director of Sport) | Azra Mahmood (Netball) & Jodie Blows (Hockey) – Captains |
Cross Country
Day 1: Off-road race (4km) in Brandkop Estate.
RESULTS: Juniors – Sofia 16th, Abygael 21st and Jenna 22nd. Seniors – Skye 3rd, Annie 7th and Amy 14th. The senior team placed 3rd overall.
The team took a trip out of the city to the dry and dusty koppie on the outskirts. Initial apprehension was voiced as the race seemed more like a trail run than a cross-country run, but being an enthusiastic and ever-positive group, they took it in their stride. The Bloemfontein heat made the last long uphill a tough one!
Each of the groups was 40-strong, and our girls did admirably. Race done, we settled down to a picnic before returning back to Eunice.
Day 2: Dress-up relay (2km dash)
RESULTS: Rustenburg placed 5th
The dress-up relay had the theme “Bloom” We were short of runners and Abygael and Jenna were loaned to Eunice and St Michaels, who were also short of runners. The relay was a quick 2km dash on the grounds of Grey College by each member of the team.
Day 3: Cross Country race at UFS cross-country track (2 laps of 2km)
RESULTS: Juniors – Sofia 15th, Abygael 20th and Jenna 24th. Seniors – Skye 3rd in a time of 16:36.30, Annie 8th and Amy 17th
Early morning drive onto the huge UFS campus to a dedicated Cross Country track. A quick walk-through and warm-up and then they were off. The track was mainly grass, with a little brick and mud (dry) – well marked with no chance of going off course.
It was an absolute pleasure accompanying this group. They were so positive, easy-going and really supportive of one another. They ran their best races, even when not running for their own team. While our cross-country season had barely started, they were running against girls that had just finished a track season; they truly can be very proud of their achievements.
Debating
Our debating team has left their mark at the National Girls School Festival, showcasing their exceptional talent, resilience, and sportsmanship throughout the tournament. With an impressive six victories and a nail-biting final, they captivated audiences and earned a special mention from adjudicators and the tournament coordinator.
Led by the remarkable trio of Imaan Davids, Tia Morrow, and Zahraa Roshan, our team excelled in their respective speaker positions. Imaan Davids showcased her analytical prowess as the team’s Rebuttal speaker, securing a commendable 14th position overall. Tia Morrow’s commanding and graceful presence earned her the 11th position, while Zahraa Roshan’s sincere and convincing approach earned her two best speaker positions and 8th position overall.
The topics ranged from international relations and philosophy to pressing issues of environmental and social justice, our debaters demonstrated their versatility and comprehensive understanding of complex issues.
In addition to their victories, the team received positive feedback from adjudicators, who commended their outstanding arguments, delivery, and etiquette. The tournament coordinator personally recognized our team for their excellent calibre, respectfulness, and sportsmanship, emphasizing the way they have distinguished themselves from the other teams.
Their remarkable journey at the tournament stands as a testament to their years of dedication and hard work, as they have been debating since Grade 9. Their success not only reflects their own achievements but also invigorates the practice of debating at Rustenburg Girls’ High School, inspiring future generations of debaters to embrace critical thinking, global awareness, and compassionate discourse. This team has made Rustenburg Girls’ High School immensely proud and we are extremely proud to propose.
Hockey
For the first time since 2019, the National Girls’ School Festival became a reality. The U19 hockey team knew the weekend would be tough, with a whopping 5 games scheduled on the first day of the tournament against some quality opposition from across the country. 22 schools participated in the hockey tournament, with teams such as Eunice and Bloemhof sharing the same pool as us.
The weekend started with a training session at Eunice to get the team acquainted with the dry air in Central South Africa. Something that proved to be pivotal for the weekend.
We narrowly missed out on a second-placed finish that would have sent us through to the Quarter-Finals, after a heart-breaking defeat to Bloemhof. A third-place finish in our pool meant that we could only finish as high as ninth place, which the team was determined to do.
Congratulations to the team on a successful weekend, and for securing a ninth-place finish out of the 22 competing schools.
Congratulations to Alhaan Emeran, Leah Hofmeyr, Tatum Malherbe and Amber de Villiers who all reached the milestone of 50 caps for the U19A team during the course of the tournament.
| Date | Team | Opposition | Result | Scorers |
| 28 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | La Rochelle | RGHS won 1-0 | Jodie Blows |
| 28 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | Danville | RGHS won 2-0 | Megan Wightman & Tatum Malherbe |
| 28 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | Potch Girls | RGHS won 6-0 | Amber de Villiers, Tatum Malherbe, Jodie Blows, Ashleigh Dixon, Lucy Kane & Emily Gray |
| 28 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | Eunice | RGHS lost 0-1 | |
| 29 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | Bloemhof | RGHS lost 0-1 | |
| 29 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | Durban Girls | RGHS won 2-0 | Tatum Malherbe & Jodie Blows |
| 29 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | Pietermaritzburg Girls | RGHS won 1-0 | Ally Goulding |
| 30 April 2023 | RGHS U19A | Danville | RGHS won 2-0 | Amber de Villiers |
Master Chef
Shannon Brooks and Georgia Harhoff took part in the Masterchef component of the National Girls’ School Festival and were accompanied by Mrs Erasmus, their Consumer Studies teacher and subject head. The Masterchef teams started the tour off with a highly informative visit to the CUT Hotel School where they were given a workshop on proper table setting for fine dining as well as a short course on the ins and outs of hospitality management. After which, they were treated to a wonderful High Tea experience which consisted of an array of sweet and savoury treats prepared by the Hotel School learners.
After the high tea, the Masterchef learners were then transported to The Upper Crust, a catering and events company which specializes in food demonstrations and wedding/events catering. Here the learners rotated across three different workshops which included an entrepreneurial talk by a local florist, Vanessa Reynhardt, who shared valuable insight into the process of taking a passion and turning it into a business. The learners were then provided with the opportunity to create their own floral arrangement, after which they were given a workshop on events management and later, were treated to private classes by a top South African chef on piping techniques and plating.
On Saturday, the day started with a trip to Sekretarispan Flower Farm where they were given an extensive tour of the farm and provided with first-hand information on what it takes to run your own business in South Africa.
After this, the main work began and the learners were then taken back to the CUT Hotel School where they participated in a Masterchef Mystery Box challenge. The learners were given an array of ingredients and were tasked with choosing one ingredient to use in a savoury dish and one in a sweet dish. Shannon and Georgia made a chicken and chilli Ravioli and an Apple tart and were awarded 4th place overall. They also received a special award from the head chef called the “Toor” award for the team that displayed the most teamwork and displayed the most potential in the kitchen– a huge compliment for the pair. Well done Shannon and Georgia!
Netball
The Rustenburg Girls’ Netball team played a total of 8 matches at Eunice Girls School Netball courts. The team was placed in Pool C where they went up against fellow Capetoninan rivals Wynberg Girls’ High and the Cape Winelands school, Paarl Girls’ High. The remaining 3 teams in the pool were Collegiate College, Jim Fouche Girls’ School and Westville Girls’ High School.
On arrival day, a beautiful afternoon turned grim and miserable with heavy thundershowers and lightning. The team managed to get a training session in just before the storm came down and the team could acclimatize to the conditions.
On day 1, the first team played 4 matches throughout the day, winning the opener against St. Michaels, but going down to Wynberg in a great contest losing by just 4 points. Then, in the remaining two games on the day, the team struggled to match up to Paarl Girls and Collegiate, who both proved to be exceptional in their shooting, despite the magnificence of our defense in Kristen McGregor (in picture) who was voted player of every pool match.
On Day 2, we completed our pool matches with the last fixture against Jim Fouch U19B team, which was another tough and spectacular contest for our team, losing by 7 points. Into the playoffs, we went and we were up against Pietermaritzburg to compete for the chance for a place in the shield matches It wasn’t meant to be for our Rustybugs as they fell short of them, but fought valiantly to stay in it to the end. On the final day, RGHS played Westville to secure the highest available position possible. A great game, in the end, saw RGHS finish 21st overall.
| DAY 1 FIXTURES – POOL C | RESULTS |
| RGHS vs St. Michaels | 14 – 13 (W) |
| RGHS vs Wynberg Girls | 12 – 16 (L) |
| RGHS vs Collegiate | 12 – 36 (L) |
| RGHS vs Paarl Girls | 12 – 36 (L) |
| DAY 2 FIXTURES – POOL C | RESULTS |
| RGHS vs Jim Fouche U19B | 17 – 24 (L) |
| DAY 2 FIXTURES – PLAY-OFF | RESULTS |
| RGHS vs Pietermaritzberg | 19 – 24 (L) |
| RGHS vs Northlands | 16 – 13 (W) |
| DAY 3 FIXTURES – FINALS (21st/22nd) | RESULTS |
| RGHS vs Westville | 29 – 11 (W) |
What seemed a difficult task taking on many top first teams across the country, proved to be nothing more than an opportunity to make a statement on the quality and talent of our Netball and our players. It was a testament to each player of the hard work they have put into their conditioning and their skills. Well done to our learners on a wonderful effort and experience in this year’s All Girls.
Squash
The Rustenburg Girls’ Squash team played 7 matches at the All Girls Festival with one BYE. The team that competed at the festival included, Tara Neville-Smyly, Isla Barbour, Morgan Hunter, and Hannah van Rensburg. On the day of arrival in Bloemfontein, the squash team spent some time on the courts to warm up and spend time together as a team prior to the start of the festival. At every match, each player really tried their best, supported the other team members and made us proud. There were definitely some tough matches which tested our players and the Squash Team showcased perseverance, and determination and took time to understand their strengths and weaknesses on the court.
We are incredibly proud of the Squash Team who came 6th place overall. Results are as follows:
| Date | Team | Opposition | Result |
| 28 April 2023 | RGHS | Danville Park | RGHS won |
| 28 April 2023 | RGHS | Paarl GHS | Paarl GHS won |
| 28 April 2023 | RGHS | Collegiate | Collegiate won |
| 29 April 2023 | RGHS | Claredon | Claredon won |
| 29 April 2023 | RGHS | QueensTown | (Very Close game) Queenstown won |
| 29 April 2023 | RGHS | Eunice | Eunice won |
| 30 April 2023 | RGHS | La Rochelle | RGHS won |
Tennis
Rustenburg was in group B and had their first game against Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool on the first day of the tournament as round 1. Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool dominated the games, but the Tennis team showed so much tenacity and teamwork.
The team had to use their strengths and work towards winning in their next round. The next round was against Eunice Girls High School, a very dominant team to play against. The team lost but gained so much resilience. They gave it their all till the very end. The day was long and the team started to show tiredness from playing 4 tough matches and were getting ready for the last game against Queenstown High School. This is when the team gave their last shot and showed the other team their true strength. They won their matches with great results from both the singles and doubles, giving them a chance to gain confidence, following such a long day and facing very tough schools. The secondary day approached and there would be full sets played for singles and pro-sets for doubles. This meant a long day ahead to show the schools what they were capable of. They played against Collegiate High School and set the standard for the day, winning their matches for singles and doubles and gaining 14 points to 4 points. In the second round, they faced Danville High School and they were hungry for victory. This was evident as they took on the school and won their matches, setting them with a win of 11 points to 7 points. The day was good and the team stayed focused on their game and even as it got very hot in the afternoon, they remained focused.
The final day came and they played against La Rochelle High School for positions 9 and 10. The team struggled a lot but gave every bit of fighting spirit. They lost that day, but with no doubt, they played their best game and they were proud of what they achieved. Despite experiencing some losses, they took every opportunity to identify where their shortcomings were and worked hard in playing better. It was tough every day, playing against really strong schools, but the team was mentally tougher. Rustenburg won 3 out of the 6 matches they played and achieved an overall position 10 out of 16 schools at the tournament. The results are below:
| Round 1: Friday 28 April 2023 | |
| Rustenburg Girls High vs Afrikaanse Hoerskool | |
| Singles | Singles |
| 3 Points | 9 Points |
| Doubles | Doubles |
| 0 Points | 6 Points |
| Lost with 3 Points | Won with 15 Points |
| Round 2: Friday 28 April 2023 | |
| Rustenburg Girls High vs Eunice Girls School | |
| Singles | Singles |
| 2 Points | 7 Points |
| Doubles | Doubles |
| 0 points | 6 Points |
| Lost with 2 Points | Won with 13 Points |
| Round 3: Friday 28 April 2023 | |
| Rustenburg Girls High vs Queenstown High School | |
| Singles | Singles |
| 9 Points | 3 Points |
| Doubles | Doubles |
| 5 Points | 1 Point |
| Won with 14 Points | Lost with 4 Points |
| Round 4: Saturday 29 April 2023 | |
| Rustenburg Girls High vs Collegiate Girls High School | |
| Singles | Singles |
| 8 Points | 4 Points |
| Doubles | Doubles |
| 3 Points | 3 Points |
| Won with 11 Points | Lost with 7 Points |
| Round 4: Saturday 29 April 2023 | |
| Rustenburg Girls High vs Danville High School | |
| Singles | Singles |
| 6 Points | 0 Points |
| Doubles | Doubles |
| 6 Points | 0 Points |
| Won with 12 Points | Lost with 0 Points |
| Round 5: Sunday 30 April 2023 | |
| Rustenburg Girls High vs La Rochelle High School | |
| Singles | Singles |
| 1 Point | 9 Points |
| Doubles | Doubles |
| 6 Points | 0 Points |
| Lost with 7 Points | Won with 11 Points |
