Dominican Convent Primary School (Harare)

The Dominican Convent is committed to the education and development of the whole person, spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, morally and socially.

History:

On the 18th of October  1892 Mother Patrick yielded to the repeated pleas of parents and opened a school with ten pupils in a pole & dagha hut erected on the site where the central block of the school now stands. This marked the beginning of a “high-class educational institution where the little ones find a happy home” as remarked by  the Rhodesia Herald  in 1901 .In 1898 the first wing of a proper brick Convent building was completed at Corner Selous Avenue and Fourth Street which had classrooms on the ground floor and dormitories for the nuns on the top floors . This building was later replaced by the present Convent in 1970 .

The 1st headmistress was Sr Yolanda who headed the school  until 1901, succeeded by Sr Canisia . By that time there were 33 boarders and 40 day scholars . In 1901 an additional building was completed  and dedicated to Mother Patrick who died in July 1900 at the age of 36 . By this time there was already evidence of great achievements by the school which became a norm . The Rhodesia Herald of 23 December 1901 remarked on the “artistic excellence of an Art display”. The 3rd headmistress was Sr Amanda then Mother Bertranda  who headed the school for 26 years till 1949 .

Enrolment increased  to 800 pupils including boys  . Boys however were transferred from 1940 at the end of their Std 4 to St Georges Prep school  and the younger boys to St Albert in Avondale . St Albert was later closed . The 5th headmistress was Sr Georgina from 1949 to 1955 and during this time the school  was divided into 3 sections , the Senior school , the Middle school  and the Junior school with different heads . Some of the heads were Sr Pancratius , Sr Georgina and Sr Gundula .

In 1987 the school divided into two sections , the Primary and High School which is how it is up to this date . With Sr Paulette as the head of the primary school , there were great achievements to take note of . Another wing of the primary school block was erected to accommodate all the grades on one building.The grade 7 exam results were always fairly high with 1s in English . For seventeen years the school was on top of the A section swimming galas .

Sr Monica took over from Sr Paulette and headed the school from 2004 . Since then the school has continued to grow and excel  in many areas . In 2010 Convent Primary school came  second in the  ZIMSEC grade 7 exams  in the Harare Metropolitan Province . Swimming proved to be one of our strengths . In the Iesteidford music and choral speaking  competition 2011, the school was  awarded  a number of honours  grades  and a trophy for the brilliant performances.Five local prominent newspapers such as The Herald  described the Convent  Junior Marimba performance at HIFA 2011 as “the HIFA Masterclass” .

All the achievements and success stories of the Convent have been made possible by the dedicated, loyal  and hardworking staff over the years. The unwavering support of the  parents is greatly appreciated as well as the hard work and effort put in by the girls and  special credit goes to the Dominican Sisters who always give spiritual guidance and instill Dominican ethos, Christian values and the Catholic faith in the staff, pupils and parents.