Pamushana high calls on former pupils to assist school

Apart from producing top results at both O and A Level at provincial and national level, the school is a national powerhouse in ball games. A number of its former students and present ones are members of various national teams.

Living under the theme, “Stoop to conquer”, hard work by all at the school, according to the headmaster Johnson Madhuku, is what they pay tribute to.

Pamushana have this year won the Tanganda Under-16 girls’ netball, national boys’ Under-20 volleyball championships, the senior netball title and were runners-up in the boys’ Coca-Cola Under-16 Championships which ended in Victoria Falls on Sunday.

Despite losing 1-0 to an average Mzingwane High School outfit who played kick-and-run football, Pamushana were the tournament’s best team. They played constructive football, building from the wings at the back through midfield with a superb passing game and great individual skill which gelled into a sleek passing unit.

In an interview on the sidelines of the tournament, headmaster Madhuku said his school took sport seriously. He said theirs was a commitment to provide several opportunities to children while they could still be moulded into great stars.

“We realise the huge potential sport has to become a profession. All over the world sportspersons are among the highest earners. Our role has been to create a platform where another Peter Ndlovu, Moses Chunga or Benjani Mwaruwari could be born.

“Backed by the discipline and academic excellence we are sure the students can become better people in society,” said Madhuku.

He said their extra-curricular activities did not in any way disturb children from studying.

“We emphasise academic achievements. The school programmes are such that classes are not disturbed, we do not want to see the kids losing on one. It’s structured in a way that they have time to attend class and study,” said Madhuku.

The Pamushana headmaster said his school was a force to reckon with in netball, volleyball, soccer and hockey. He said they were working on improving on the number of disciplines to cater for more students.

A plus for the school’s success in sport is that most of the coaches are highly qualified.
He said nothing could beat the teachers’ and coaches’ commitment to high standards of success on and off the field.

“I am lucky to have a highly qualified teaching personnel and coaches who are hardworking and want to succeed. As a school we are driven by the motto to conquer all that comes in front of us be it studies or opponents.

“The students that we recruit tend to buy into what the school expects, and when they get to know about the excelling legacy at O Level and A Level and our dominance in sport, they need no further motivation, they change and want to excel too,” said the headmaster who is the National Association of Secondary School Heads boss.

He called upon former students and the business community to come forward and help the 111-year- old institution in a number of areas. A bus, he said, was needed to help ferry teams and students going to inter-high school debate, singing, drama and quiz competitions.

A priority in sport, he said, was the construction of all-weather courts which could be used for tennis, basketball and volleyball.

“With the diversity of activities for our students, there is a need for another bus. Some of the earnings from these competitions will go towards the acquisition of a bus, the second for the school.

But still that won’t be enough, so our appeal is to former students and the business community to come forward and help grow the school in whatever way possible,” said the headmaster of the reformed Church of Zimbabwe’s famed school.

Madhuku said last year they had 11 students attaining 15 points at A Level. He said even at O Level the results were something to write home about.

“To prove that we are not all about sport, we had 11 students coming out with 15 points at A Level. We are actually stronger in sciences and we continue to try to improve our results and we have consistently stayed among the top schools in Masvingo and Zimbabwe,” said the man who has been at the school since 1991 before becoming headmaster in 1997 to begin a transformation process that has left the school the envy of the nation.

Turning to the Copa Coca-Cola tournament which his school has won and been to several finals, Madhuku said the event was key to the development of soccer in the country. He welcomed the sponsors’ decision to introduce girls’ soccer.

“Copa Coca-Cola’s sponsorship plays an integral part in trying to identify and nurture future champions. It gives children an opportunity to interact with peers from diverse backgrounds and provide future national stars,” said Madhuku.

Over 150 000 Zimbabwe students participated in the matches from district level.