Hottentots Holland High School is an Afrikaans- and English-speaking school in the Western Cape in South Africa, situated between the towns of Somerset West and Strand. The parallel-medium, co-educational school, situated to the west of the N2 national road, was opened by Dr G. G. Cillie, Chairman of the School Board, in February, 1930. A portion of the land on which it now stands having been given by Mesdames Beynon and Osler, daughters of an early Somerset West shopkeeper and property owner. At this time the school had an enrolment of 220 pupils and a staff of 11 under Mr A. J. Ackerman. The school motto "Sibi Fidelis Ipsi" is Latin for "True To Oneself".
As of 2007, it has 960 students and 44 teachers. It has students registered in grades 8 through 12.
The school enjoys a strong sporting rivalry with its neighbour high schools, Hoërskool Strand and Parel Vallei High School.
The school is a site for students in the Scientific and Industrial Leadership Initiative (SAILI), a non-profit programme for promising science and engineering pupils which was set up in 2002 by the heads of the four universities in the province after they became frustrated at the low skills levels of first-year students.
SAILI identifies students in low-income families in the second-last year of primary schooling and provides catch-up and reinforcement classes, after which they can enter good quality high schools such as Hottentots Holland. They continue to take classes every two Saturdays at venues such as the MTN Sciencentre for the first two years of high school, after which they take booster lessons at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Read more about Hottentots Holland High School: Notable Alumni
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