This morning, Thursday, 17 April, Union High School celebrated its ๐ฆ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ, marking a momentous occasion to honour our learners’ accomplishments across various summer sporting activities.
Additionally, we recognised the talents and contributions of our learners in Culture and Service.
Congratulations to the following Union High School ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ on successfully passing their Level 2 certification: Jemae-Mari Davids, Nombulelo Ncombo, Brogan Koeberg, Taegan Hamid, Ciara Kivedo, Milani Pongoma, Lina Tadesse, Zelreech Frazenburg, Erin Gedult, Lolwethu Dayimani and Viwe Ngxekisa.
๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐, especially with 77% of our learners scoring above 90% and an impressive 36% exceeding 95%!
A special ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ to the Union High School SGB for their unwavering support of the First Aid programme; their support is truly invaluable!
On Saturday, 12 April, Union High School’s rugby teams enjoyed a great day on the field as they faced off against Kariega’s Bergsig at home.
The ๐จ๐ญ๐ฏ๐ team delivered an outstanding performance, winning decisively with a score of 53-5. The ๐จ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ team also put in a commendable effort, narrowly winning 7-5.
The ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ซ๐ฉ faced a tough challenge, finishing with a score of 7-37 against Bergsig.
The ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ team triumphed over Bonzai with a solid 24-0 victory.
The ๐จ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ squad followed suit, securing a 14-7 win against Bergsig.
Lastly, the final match of the day saw the ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ฉ battling to a dramatic 29-29 draw. Union got off to a good start but ill-discipline led to Bergsig getting he first points on the board through a penalty kick, taking the lead by 0-3. Union then managed to score a try by Elvandre Meyer and Makukhanye de Beer converted it, taking the score to 7-3 in favour of the Union side. A mistake on a attack led to Bergsig scoring and taking the lead by 7-10. A brilliant try by Liso Booi allowed Union to take the lead taking the score to 12-10. Bergsig then scored two more tries before half time and taking the lead by 12-22 going into the half-time break.
The second hald proved to be much like the 1st half where the Union boys didn’t take the opportunities on hand. Bergsig scored once again and extended their lead to 12-29. The Union boys fought back and scored tries through Yaaseen Kazi, Yonela Wana and Janathen van den Berg. The game ended in a hard fought draw 29-29.
Despite an early start this morning, the Union Schools’ ๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฌ players had an outstanding day in Gqeberha against Sunridge Primary School.
The u/7A team secured a 2-1 victory, while the u/7B side followed suit with a solid 2-0 win.
The u/8A players enjoyed an impressive 7-2 triumph and the u/8B team added to the winning streak with a 3-0 victory.
The u/9A team dominated the game, finishing with a score of 13-0 and the u/9B team also celebrated a resounding 9-0 win.
As the day continued, the u/10A team achieved a commanding 10-0 victory and the u/10B team capped off an incredible performance with a 7-1 win.
The u/13 teams were equally impressive, with the u/13A and u/13B teams each winning 2-1, while the u/13C team secured a 2-0 victory and the u/13D team triumphed with a 5-0 win.
We have just offloaded a truck-load of new ๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ฆ intended for the Tony Burrell Union’s deck, generously donated by our wonderful Old Unionites.
These benches will serve as an incredible asset to theย Union High Schoolย campus and clubhouse, creating inviting spaces for gatherings, relaxation and community connection.
In addition to the gratitude we feel towards our Old Unionites, we would also like to extend a ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ to Mr Gilbert Loots and his team at Montego Pet Nutrition for their exceptional support with the logistics involved in transporting the benches from Johannesburg to Graaff-Reinet. Their assistance has truly been invaluable!
Our 1st Rugby Rugby team was scheduled to play against opposition from East London, namely Stirling High School and Cambridge High School.
The first match against Stirling High School was also our first home game for the 2025 season and proved to be one of our toughest games of the year so far but the boys managed to be put on a good performance and claim victory by 17-14.
Our second game was against Cambridge, Union dominated the early phases of the game but lack of discipline put us on the back foot and we couldn’t continue from where we left off from the previous game. Cambridge won the game by 27-24, a battle that was fought right up until the end of the game.
Hockey Report
Union’s 1st Team delivered a dominant performance at our home festival, winning all our pool games: – vs Lilyfontein: Won 6 – 1 – vs Langenhoven: Won 6 – 0 – vs Nico Malan: Won 3 – 0 – vs Clarendon 2nd: Won 10 – 0 Semi-final – vs Sasolburg: 0 – 0 (lost 3-2 in 8-sec shootout) 3rd/4th Playoff: – vs Fichardtpark: Won 3 – 2 Union finished 3rd overall.
The second team/Invitational team also took part in the Senior Hockey Festival from 28 March to 31 March.ย They faced some tough 1st team sides in their pool – three of the four teams in their pool placed in the Top 10 of the festival.ย The girls showed a lot of grit and resilience and fought back with a positive attitude in every match.ย Their results were as follow:
Vs Stellenbosch: 0-5 Vs Sasolburg: 0-8 Vs Victoria Girls: 0-6 Vs Brandwag: 0-3 Vs Claredon 2: 0-6 Vs ZastronL:4-0
Special mention must be made regarding their match against Sasolburg, who played in the final of this tournament. During half time the 2nd team had 7 goals against them. The girls decided on a new strategy, played like true Unionites and Sasolburg only scored 1 goal in the second half.
As Term 2 unfolds, weโd like to reflect back on the remarkable moments from Union High School’s 2025 ๐ฆ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ & ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐, held over the weekend of 28 to 31 March, marking its 36th edition.
This yearโs festival, which began its journey back in 1987 on the schoolโs campus in Graaff-Reinet, witnessed an impressive turnout with over 600 enthusiastic hockey and rugby players participating.
The 4-day celebration kicked off on Friday, 28 March, with a cocktail function held in the Tony Burrell Union. Despite starting the day with a torrential downpour, the evening transformed into a stunning spectacle as the sky cleared, providing a breathtaking backdrop for teams to mingle and connect on the sports field, enjoying the social camaraderie that is the essence of the festival.
Coaches and managers relished the opportunity to network in great company while savouring the delicious offerings supplied by the dedicated Union moms.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ข๐บ ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ. A heartfelt thank you was also extended to our sponsors, Bothaโs Garage and Astron Energy Eastern Cape, along with the devoted individuals working behind the scenes, whose efforts made the festival possible.
The following three days brought beautiful weather, allowing teams to take full advantage of the AstroTurf at both Union and Hoรซr Volkskool, while rugby enthusiasts cheered on the action unfolding on the Union rugby fields.
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. While the hosting side had previously clinched the title, they faced a challenging match against Sasolburg High School, which ended in a nail-biting shootout that saw Sasolburg emerge victorious, ultimately placing the Union side third.
With the exception of the Sasolburg game, the Union girls managed to secure victories in all their other matches. They triumphed over Lilyfontein School 6-1, Hoรซrskool Langenhoven 6-0, Nico Malan 3-0, Clarendonโs 2nd Team 10-0 and Fichardtpark 3-2, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
On the rugby field, the Union 1st XV played two matches during the festival. Day 2 saw them victorious against Stirling with a score of 17-14, while the final match on Day 4 was a tough contest against Cambridge, resulting in a close loss of 24-27.
We would like to extend a heartfelt ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ to ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ-๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ for the generous donation of backpacks to our 2025 u/13A rugby team!
Your thoughtful contribution means so much to us and we are truly grateful for your support. The boys are absolutely thrilled with their new bags, which not only enhance their team spirit but also serve as a reminder of the communityโs encouragement.
Seen here is Mr Wessel Landman and Mr Ampie Jordaan of PSG Graaff-Reinet, with Union’s u/13A rugby captain, Lukhona Bulembu and vice-captain, Dante Mills.
