Pietermaritzburg Girls' High School

Pietermaritzburg Girls' High School (GHS) is a semi-private, all girls, day and boarding school situated in the urban city of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Overview
The school has ±210 boarders and 1200 day pupils.

There is a house system consisting of 8 houses:


 * Sapphire
 * Garnet
 * Morganite
 * Topaz
 * Tanzanite
 * Ruby
 * Citrine
 * Amethyst

Each girl is assigned a house when they enter the school in Grade 8.

The school also has a peer counselling programme that began in 1996. It was designed to give the learners of our school the extra support they may need. Instead of going to one of the four adult counsellors our school has employed, learners now have the opportunity to go to another matric student that has proven herself worthy to be given the opportunity to provide students with extra care.

History
The school was founded in 1920 in the family mansion of Morningside, the home of Peter and Mary Davis. In 1925, Morningside became the boarding establishment. The main school building, designed after the style of Sir Herbert Baker, is now a National Monument.

Sports on offer
The school has an array of sports on offer that make it easy for learners to find one that they are comfortable in:
 * Outdoor Hockey
 * Indoor Hockey
 * Tennis
 * Squash
 * Netball
 * Action Netball
 * Basketball
 * Volleyball
 * Swimming
 * Waterpolo
 * Canoeing
 * Soccer
 * Athletics
 * Badminton
 * Table Tennis
 * Chess
 * Cross Country
 * Power Walking
 * Volleyball

Campus
The campus is about 11 hectares that has been transformed into a modern establishment with modern buildings, sports fields, and gardens.

Features on campus include: 2 fully equipped computer labs, a performance theatre, an archives and museum, multipurpose indoor centre, high performance gym, library with over 18 000 books, and 7 Science laboratories.

GHS is a Google school and makes use of modern technologies by using platforms like Google Classroom and Google Drive to communicate and to share work. Learners may access Chromebooks via the library or one of the computer labs.

BE
There is a boarding facility on campus that houses about 210 girls from Grade 8 to Grade 12.

In Grade 8 and 9, boarders live in communal dormatories as this helps them foster a sense of sisterhood and togetherness that is vital in their first few years of high school.

In Grade 10 and 11, learners live in pairs. This allows them to have a bit more independence, and gives them a bit more privacy as is crucial at this age.

In Grade 12, learners are given their own rooms, as this gives them full responsibility for themselves and their belongings. It helps to give them a sense of privacy as well as give them room to study for their upcoming matric exams.

Awards and honours
The school is ranked as one of the top three schools in its district for achievements in the ‘Matric’ Examination (South African National Senior Certificate). The school was also recently named one of the Top 25 Government Schools in South Africa.

Achievements include:
 * National Science and Technology Forum Award for excellence in Mathematics and Science
 * Life-Sciences Olympiad: GHS was the top achieving school in the Grade 11 section
 * Umgungundlovu Director's Special Achievement Award for the best Senior Certificate results in the District for 2001–2005
 * Presidential Award for Excellence in SC Mathematics - sponsored by Anglo-American
 * National Science and Technology Forum Award for excellence in Mathematics and Science
 * 2020 Dux came 2nd in the District
 * 2022 Dux came 3rd in the District
 * 100% matric pass rate
 * 97% bachelors pass
 * Multiple gold ratings by the International Eisteddfod for our Wind Band and String Ensemble

Old Girls' Society
The school has a very active old girls society with events held continuously.

Notable alumnae

 * Judy Ditchfield, actress
 * Kathleen D. Gordon-Gray, botanist, plant collector and educator
 * Thuso Mbedu, actress
 * Sibusisiwe Jili, actress