Miss Evelyn Beatrix Darke is appointed headmistress. She is the choice of the school’s Governing Body, Sister Geraldine, who had been at school with her, and Johannesburg’s Archdeacon Skey.

Under the Sisters, the school had recovered from its near-fatal collapse. The question is how to retain the momentum. Jeppestown is fast becoming an extension of central Johannesburg, bringing with it noise and congestion. The school is hemmed in on all sides and teachers struggle to make themselves heard. The well-to-do and professional classes – the latter is St Mary’s constituency – are gravitating towards the northern suburbs such as Parktown and Westcliff, from where, on a clear day, they can just make out the Magaliesberg mountains.