CAPE RECIFE HIGH SCHOOL / HOËRSKOOL KAAP RECIFE, Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth
The arms are not registered. They may be blazoned:
Arms: Arms: Per saltire azure and bleu céléste, a lighthouse with its light (in honour point) and topmost structure argent, the shaft of the lighthouse barry of four bleu céléste and argent, and on each bleu céléste segment a window azure; the dexter and sinister quarters forming the beams emitted by the light; in chief a dove argent and in base a barrulet wavy bleu céléste.
Motto: Certare et vincere.
About the arms:
The school resolved to use the badge as designed, rather than make changes proposed by the Bureau of Heraldry. It would seem, however, that a compromise could have been reached.
The arms as they stand place too much emphasis on the contrast between dark and light blue.
Although the colour light blue (bleu céléste) has occurred occasionally in heraldry since the Middle Ages, it was rare in most countries of Europe until the First World War. Because of its usefulness in symbolising aviation (initially military aviation) it enjoyed a vogue in the (heraldically devised) badges of air force squadrons and the arms of people honoured for their contribution in aviation.
The heraldic colour azure (blue) can be almost any shade of blue, even quite a light shade in some circumstances, except in the rare instances where it is contrasted with light blue. In such instances, obviously, it must be visibly darker. However, the use of these two colours together needs to be applied with caution, as there is a risk of there not being enough contrast between the two shades. This is in fact the case here.
The school’s official tracksuit has light blue segments separated from the darker blue by a white edging (in heraldic terms, a fimbriation). Such a fimbriation could be applied in the case of the beams.
Alternatively, changing the beams to argent (white or silver) could perhaps have rendered the arms acceptable.
Omitting the wavy barrulet might also tidy up the design sufficently. While the school attaches considerable meaning to the sea, the lighthouse itself could be said to stand for a seaside situation, since such structures are always erected along the coast, and sometimes even offshore – in other words, always within sight of the sea.
The dove could be somewhat larger, filling the upper quarter.
The Bureau suggested a change in the shape of the dove, which the school resisted. It might have been wiser to discuss an alternative drawing of the dove.
It is, after all, based on a logo. The drawback of logo design is that, regardless of how badly it is drawn, its form is fixed, whereas any competent artist who draws a heraldic design in terms of the blazon (technical description) can produce an acceptable rendition, even if it does not exactly match some previous example.
This artistic freedom enables heraldic devices to be updated without actually changing the blazon, simply through a more inspired interpretation of the laid-down components of the design and a brighter interpretation of the colours used.
There is also a narrow white border that could safely be eliminated.
The school’s explanation of the arms reads:
“The lighthouse features prominently on the badge because of the particular siting of the school building. In close proximity to the school is the rocky cape known as Cape Recife from which the school’s name is derived. Also found in this area is the Cape Recife lighthouse, a well-known beacon to the people of Port Elizabeth.”
Cape Recife, which marks the western end of Algoa Bay, was first named Cabo de Arrecife (Cape of the Reef) by Bartolomeo Dias, who called at the bay in 1488.
“The light streaming from the lighthouse symbolises the hope, knowledge, safety and singleness of purpose envisaged for the pupils.
“The wavy line represents the sea. The sea is symbolic of an open mind, boundless knowledge and unlimited horizons. The sea also symbolises that one’s journey through life comprises both calm and troubled times.
“The white dove in flight against a blue background is the national emblem of the cerebral palsy branch of the National Council for the Care of Cripples in South Africa.
“The white dove is the recognised symbol of peace. This is an apt choice for this school which concerns itself with the specific needs of learning disabled and cerebral palsied children so that ultimately they might enjoy peace of mind.
“The choice of a dove in flight symbolises the active and purposeful overcoming of problems experienced by learning disabled and cerebral palsied children.”
The motto, Certare et vincere, translates as: “To strive and achieve.”
About the school:
The school which was to become Cape Recife High opened on 1 March 1956 with seven pupils.
It had come into existence through the zeal and determination of Mrs Hanna Lurie, whose daughter Sandra Rose had cerebral palsy.
A house was later purchased in Buckingham Road where 32 children were taught and received therapy.
On 1 April 1957 the school received recognition from the Department of Education, Arts and Science and became a State-aided school, officially the Eastern Cape School for the Cerebral Palsied.
Mr Neider Heitman was appointed its first principal. Mrs Ethel Woolf was its first physiotherapist and Mrs Rose Noach its first teacher. Speech therapist Mrs Eunice Abrahams served on a part-time basis.
Later, the services of Mr J A van Aarde (now a professor), a psychologist attached to the Port Elizabeth School Clinic, were also procured.
An area of 8,5ha in Summerstrand, adjoining Admiralty Way, was purchased from the municipality for a nominal price of R2.
The eastern side of the property lay along what, in 1974, would become University Way – the main route into both the University of Port Elizabeth and the Port Elizabeth Technikon – both now form part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
The new school buildings and a hostel were officially opened on 20 April 1963. Provision was made for 120 pupils.
It was officially named Cape Receife School.
Since 1963, the school buildings and the hostel complex have twice been enlarged to provide adequate accommodation for cerebral palsied as well as learning-disabled pupils.
Since the 1980s increasingly more learning-disabled pupils have been admitted because the education authorities have come to realise that schools for cerebral palsied pupils have the facilities and staff with the expertise to provide specialised education of this kind. However, there has been no significant increase in the number of cerebral palsied pupils.
The school offered a full senior secondary phase from 1989, and the first matriculation class completed their examinations at the end of 1990.
The conversion to a secondary school enabled a slight change of name, and it became Cape Recife High School (adopting what had become the standard spelling for the promontory).
From 1990 to 1999 the school has achieved a 100% pass rate, the pupils writing the same examination as mainstream schools.
The school is today a parallel-medium co-educational school from Grade 1 to 12.
Unlike most schools, this one is a registered welfare organisation, its fund-raising number WO 2011.
