History
Kloof High School opened in February 1960 under the first headmaster, Mr G. Goodwin. The 127 students were taught in prefabricated classrooms situated on a temporary site at the corner of Emolweni and Dan Pienaar Roads in the village of Kloof.
The school grew quickly under the third principal, Mr Dudley Barton, who succeeded Mr J.F. Dixon in July 1963. Construction had begun on permanent buildings in 1963 and by mid–1964 the students in the eighth to eleventh grades were able to move into their new classrooms. For some time the prefabs on the top field remained as further building continued. In 1965 the first grade 12 pupils wrote the School's first matriculation examinations, and the school houses, Churchill, Founders and Keller, were established.
In 1969, Mr T. Gerdener (then Provincial Administrator for Natal) officially opened the school. At that time, there were 524 students and 26 teachers, and a further classroom wing, including an Art Studio and Media Centre had been added and a school hall. During the July holidays of that year the first sports tours were undertaken with a 1st Hockey XI touring the Eastern Cape and the first rugby touring Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The faith of the founders had been justified and a coat of arms was designed by Mr Alan Woodrow, including the motto: "In hoc signo vinces" meaning "In this sign (the cross) you will conquer."
Academic, sporting and cultural aspects of school life were catered for but Mr Barton felt the spiritual needs of the students should be met. Fund raising began for a chapel and the Dudley Barton Sanctuary was opened in 1977, dedicated by the Bishop of Natal. Despite being a public school, Kloof High retains its Christian ethos, but accommodates pupils of all religions.
Mr Barton retired in 1978 and was succeeded by Mr H.M. Puzey under whom the school continued to grow. Further classrooms were built including a Computer Room. On the sports front, provincial and, on occasion, national honours, were earned in swimming, (the school now had a swimming pool), cricket, hockey, athletics and tennis. Mr Hugh Deane was Principal from 1989 until 1994.
In January 1995 Mr Deane was succeeded by Mr Dave Seager. The school was declared a Model C school early in the nineties, and a school governing body was formed to deal with financial concerns.
In the new millennium, the school introduced a sports centre, the John Dickson Indoor Centre, and an auditorium.
During March 2005, Mr Seager resigned and was replaced by Mrs Dawn A. Léfort in her capacity as Acting Principal. She has worked at the School since 1977 as a French and History teacher. Mrs Dawn A. Léfort is the current principal and head of Senior Management at Kloof High School.
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“The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records between the material and the moral nature.”
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