The Community of St Mary The Virgin arrives
The Community of St Mary the Virgin, from Wantage, England, takes on the internal management of the school after Mrs Bryn Jones resigns. The Sisters have the vision and tenacity to make long-cherished dreams – most particularly a hall, a swimming pool and a chapel – a reality.
Sister Emily Isabel arrives from England and is installed as the Sister Superior by the Bishop of Johannesburg in September. Other Sisters soon follow.
One of their first actions is to choose chapel servers and establish a chapel choir. The girls can now indulge their love of acting when Nativity plays are produced.
The Sisters are ambitious and feel the standard of sport leaves much to be desired. The magazine records that “at the beginning of the (hockey) season, the standard of play was rather low – a large number of the school had never played before, and the majority did not seem keen”.
The Sisters feel the girls slouch and introduce posture/deportment badges. These become a bone of contention for those who are given a D, “which means DISGRACE”, and “LOSES 5 marks for the House”.