Durban Girls' College

Description

Durban Girls' College (DGC) is a private day and boarding school for girls in Durban. The school aims to equip its learners with a high level of education for women of consecutive generations with the aid of excellent academic, sport, and cultural facilities. The school teaches from Grade 0 to Grade 12 and has a total of 800 students.

Heritage

Durban Girls' College was founded in 1877 as the “Durban Young Ladies’ Collegiate Institution” by Sir Benjamin Greenacre, Henry Cottam, David Hunter, George Rutherford, Senator Fleetwood Churchill, and William Palmer. With a strong and proud heritage, the 6 school houses still bear their names.

The school motto is Nisi Dominus Frustra which means "Without God, all is in vain”.

Academics

The 2014 matriculants achieved a 100% pass rate at Bachelor Degree level.

Sports & Culture

Durban Girls' College is a top aquatic school, known for swimming, water polo, and synchronised swimming. It is also a top hockey school. The school has a variety of sporting disciplines and a healthy lifestyle programme.

School Facilities

• Library with stained-glass windows
• Auditorium seating close to 200 people with excellent acoustics
• Music school housing the Megan Noyce Music Hall
• Centenary Hall
• Cape Dutch-style Trust House with an art studio
• Junior Primary
• AstroTurf with views of Durban's beachfront
• Miller Grove House with a large function room and deck
• Aquatic centre
• Fitness centre
• Squash and tennis courts
• Boarding house

Boarding

College House, the school’s residence, offers boarding for four nights for 65 girls. This allows the girls to skip traffic and long journeys so they can concentrate on their studies and sport. Situated on the eastern side of the campus, it’s close to the fitness centre, squash courts, tennis courts, aquatic centre, and AstroTurf. It also has coffee lounges, verandas, courtyards, and gardens for the girls to relax in.

Scholarships

The school offers a range of scholarships for academics, sport, and music.

Notable Graduates

• Professor Elizabeth Sneddon
• Lara Logan: television journalist for CBS News
• Renee Schuurman: Wimbledon tennis player
• Virginia Wade: Wimbledon tennis player
• Kirsten Goss: International jeweller
• Yasmeen Akhalwaya: author of Masalas & Spices of Southern Africa
• 4 Rhodes scholars
• Several Olympians