Paarl Gimnasium is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational high school situated in the city of Paarl in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
History Rev. van der Lingen founded the school in the centre of town in 1858. The school has produced some of South Africa's top rugby union players, including Schalk Burger, Jean De Villiers, Marius Joubert, Handré Pollard and De Wet Barry. Other alumni include the theologian Stephanus Jacobus du Toit and politician Liezl van der Merwe.
The primary school section of Gimnasium was founded in 1858 as a Dutch Christian school for boys, with the high school being founded much later. In the mid-1930s the school's language of education shifted to Afrikaans. After the high school section was completed the school enrolled its first female student.
Paarl Gimnasium High School has a large sporting program and takes part in the interschools tournament against Paarl Boys' High School, an event which attracts tens of thousands of spectators every year. In August 2024 the netball team won the Kay Motsepe league and earned a spot to represent South Africa in Singapore with Leifo-Iziko Secondary School from Petsana Reitz, Free State. In November 2024 the netball team took first place and won gold in Singapore while Leifo-Iziko took the third place, earning a bronze.
Notable alumni Springbok Rugby Name Test debut Springbok number Japie le Roux 10/10/1906 94Boy de Villiers 17/11/1906 95 Pietie le Roux 24/11/1906 103Steve Joubert 24/11/1906 110Gerald Thompson 23/11/1912 142Attie van Heerden 13/08/1921 152Pierre de Villiers 30/06/1928 195Xander van der Westhuizen 21/07/1928 203Manus de Jongh 18/08/1928 205PK Morkel 01/09/1928 211Jan Pickard 19/09/1953 301Hugo van Zyl 26/07/1958 340Wynand Mans 10/04/1965 398Schalk Burger (snr) 02/06/1984 535Kobus Burger 26/08/1989 552Kobus Wiese 26/06/1993 585Balie Swart 31/07/1993 595Mornay Visser 13/04/1995 625Pieter Rossouw 28/06/1997 652De Wet Barry 10/06/2000 690Louis Koen 08/07/2000 693Chris Rossouw no tests 699Marius Joubert 21/07/2001 711Jean de Villiers 09/11/2002 735Schalk Burger (jnr) 24/10/2003 754Ashley Johnson 23/07/2011 810Lourens Adriaanse 23/11/2013 853Handré Pollard 28/06/2014 857Louis Schreuder 02/12/2017 891Grant Williams 09/07/2022 929
Other Marciel Hopkins, model and Boer Soek 'n Vrou presenter Marguerite Wheatley, actress Perlé van Schalkwyk, businesswoman and owner of the Lollipop Lounge Liezl van der Merwe, Member of the National Assembly of South Africa Mandy Rossouw, journalist Martelize Brink, author and radio presenter Kiewiet, 2002 Alumnus & Draadspanner
References
External links
Official website