This is story #24 in the series “Where Exactly is Home?”. The author recommends you read them in order.
Introduction:
“Where Exactly is Home?” follows the story of my parents, my two younger brothers and me, Susan, who emigrated from war-battered Britain, in the mid-late 1950’s, to Southern Rhodesia, Africa.
The effects of this move on our family were huge, as we struggled to adapt to such a different way of life. Only after further upheaval, and more long-distance travelling, did our family eventually settle in the city of Salisbury, Rhodesia.
However, we did not know then that we would not remain there for the rest of our lives, either.
When the family first went to Africa, I, Susan, was 9 years old. My two brothers, John and Peter, were almost 7 and 4, respectively.
Nowadays, as seniors, John and Peter live in England. I live in Canada. Throughout our lives, we have both benefitted from, and suffered because of, our somewhat unusual childhood.
I, for one, still sometimes ask myself which country represents home to me.
This is a series of stories under the title “Where Exactly is Home?” – I recommend you read them in order, starting with story #1.
24. Yet Another British-Styled School, in Southern Africa, 1961
Despite the beginnings of political turmoil in Southern Rhodesia in 1960, I had enjoyed the academic experience of my first year of high school at Lord Malvern High School, on the outskirts of Salisbury. However, at the end of that year, in December 1960, my parents decided to move into central Salisbury, so that my brother John could be registered for his first year at Allan Wilson Technical High School. John was two years younger than me, but only a year behind academically. He was younger than his peer group, but at least he was, like all the other students, entering the first year of high school at the correct time. Not so, for me. I was now starting at Girls High School (GHS), the oldest such school for girls in Salisbury, but was to enter the second year, making my way amongst a group of girls who had been at the school for a year and had known each other for a long time. Since many of the students were boarders, they not only studied together, but they lived together in one of the two boarding hostels on the premises. I was once more going to be the new girl, maybe the only one in this school, and it was something that I dreaded.
It wasn’t the timetable that caused me anxiety. I knew how the school was run, because all high schools were organized along the same lines as the famous British Public (Private) Schools.
Girls High School Salisbury logo
