Inyathi High School


Inyathi High School is a boarding co-educational secondary school in Inyathi, Zimbabwe. It is the oldest formal educational institution of any kind in Zimbabwe.
Together with sister institutions of Dombodema High School in Plumtree and Tennyson Hlabangane High School in Hope Fountain, Inyathi High School is privately owned by the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa which is itself an offshoot of the London Missionary Society.

History

The current district of Inyathi arose around the mission established by the London Missionary Society, and Inyathi High School began as the Inyathi Mission School in 1896.
When the LMS sought to establish a mission in Zimbabwe, King Mzilikazi granted them land near his capital in Bulawayo, enabling him to monitor their activities, and forbade them from proselytizing the Matebele people. As such, Christianity did not spread amongst the Matebele until the fall of the Matebele nation in 1893. There were many reasons for this. Firstly, the fact that these missionaries brought diseases that decimated the livestock of the Matebele was taken as a sign of an ill omen by the hosts. Secondly, failure of the missionaries to respect rituals and traditions of the Matebele meant that they were viewed with suspicion and their preaching unwelcome. Thus, the first Matebele convert to come into the Christian fold in 1892, Mathambo Ndlovu was killed by locals who could not stand for his "conversion".
Establishment of Inyathi Mission School in 1896, 40 years after the mission station was first established has to be a clear measure of slowness with which Christianity first spread amongst the Matebele. With the Matebele nation having fallen in 1893 it is little wonder then that 1896 offers a date stamp from which we can reasonably conclude with some certainty that the Matebele Nation had indeed fallen, making it possible for Christianity thus, to spread amongst the folk. The establishment of the school would suggest that by then, a critical mass of the "converted" local folk had now been attained. Their enrollment in the school also suggests that it must have now been safe for them to receive the teachings of the missionaries openly.
Inyathi Mission evolved from a modest site consisting of a church of red bricks, built by Moffat, which still stands to this day. Today, Inyathi Mission Complex comprises a church, a primary-day school, a secondary-boarding school, a farm and a graveyard for its founding missionaries. The most current records show the school intake to consist of 294 boys, 316 girls and 33 teachers; 1 boarding master, 1 boarding mistress, an accounts clerk and a bursar. They also suggest that the boarding-school farm was decoupled from the Inyathi Mission complex soon after political independence in 1980.
Inyathi Mission became the first centre for academic excellence as we know it today, in 1896, taking students from what is now Zimbabwe and as far afield as Malawi and Zambia.

Format

Inyathi High School is a traditional academic institution following an academic training route of its students. It has an academic streaming system that channels students towards either the Sciences or Arts routes after the first two years of secondary schooling. Between 1975 and 1978, the school uniform for boys were grey shirt, grey long trousers in the winter, grey short trousers in the summer, Grey knee length socks, Mauve jumpers, Mauve blazer, black shoes, and a scarf with the student's house colour. For girls, it was a lilac and white thin striped tunic, white ankle socks, Mauve jumpers, Mauve blazer and black shoes.

House system

Welfare management of students is by a rigid traditional four house system. The houses are named after the school's founders and assigned colours as follows:
Accommodation arrangements in the dormitories and sitting arrangements in the Dining Hall are based strictly on the School House System. The school has a traditional prefect system, consisting of a head boy and head girl, each with a deputy. Each intake of students is followed by a randomised draft system into the respective houses, with siblings also falling prey to the random house allocation. Once drafted, each student remains with the house throughout their stay in the school. Each house is headed by a House Master from the academic staff, a Boys House Captain, and a Girls House Captain supported by a complement of boy and girl prefects elected by each stream of the academic year in the first 2 years. All other senior prefects are selected by the academic staff with criteria for selection remaining a prerogative for the staff.
Most competitions in the school are based on inter-house rivalry, with each house tending to dominate depending on the sport in question and the complement and giftedness of its new recruits. Healthy inter-house rivalry remains a source of tension, amusement and pride equally throughout a student's career at the school.

Staff

The officers of the school are the Headmaster, the deputy Headmaster, The Bursar, Heads of Academic Departments, House Masters, Teachers, The Boarding Master, Boarding Mistress, who doubles as the School Nurse, laboratory technicians. The school was also served by a Farm Manager and a complement of 3-4 Cooks. The school has separate domotories for Boys with Media Rooms and girls with Media Rooms, Dining Hall, a Dispensary, Classrooms and a Tuckshop.

Athletics

Inyathi students enjoy on-going inter-school rivalries on many fronts with neighbouring schools as well others further afield.

Graveyard

The original missionary graveyard saw its first burial in 1860 and holds the remains of some of the original team of missionaries that established the Inyathi Mission Station. The burial plot is a small, dignified and maintained plot not in routine use. It has been extended recently by the UCCSA to honour the first black Headmaster to the Secondary-Boarding School, Mr. Mzingaye Dube who died suddenly whilst still in office in 1979. His wife, Sister Dube, who tragically followed him soon after as a result of the trauma and heartbreak of his loss, is also buried next to him. May they both rest in eternal peace. Another notable burial is that of a member of one of the influential Inyathi families, long-standing local politician and businessman Mr. Micah Bhebhe whose remains were interred on this site on 1 August 2003.
Inyathi High School, The UCCSA and the local community recently marked 150 years since the establishment of the Missionary Settlement. The UCCSA recently announced plans to extend its contribution to Zimbabwe's Education Sector by building a University within boundaries of its Inyathi Mission Farm, a stone's throw away from the High School.

Notable alumni