page_title: Hoërskool Voortrekker (Boksburg)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Hoërskool Voortrekker (Boksburg) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of Morris arcade
context_page_description: Hoërskool Voortrekker is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational high school situated in the municipality of Boksburg in the city of Ekurhuleni in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The academic school was established in 1920.
context_section_description: Voortrekker High School   was the first Afrikaans school on the Witswatersrand. The school was started by a group of Afrikaners, under the leadership of Louw, who wanted their children to have an alternative to English schools.
  In April 1918 the East Rand School Council undertook a feasibility study to see if there are sufficient Afrikaans speaking pupils past standard five to justify an Afrikaans medium school.
  The survey confirmed the need for an Afrikaans secondary school. Through the hard work of Louw, the OOSRANDSE HOLLANDSE MEDIUM HOËRSKOOL was established on 29 January 1920. The school started in Nobby's Bar   next to the Boksburg Lake with 67 learners and 6 educators. Mr. an Wyk was the acting principal. At the start of the second quarter Mr. AM Muller became the first permanent principal. At the start of the third quarter the school was renamed Hoërskool Voortrekker. In 1922 the school relocated to a shop in the Morris arcade.
  In 1923  du Toit became the new principal and shortly afterwards the erection of a permanent school building began.
  On 30 July 1924 the new school buildings were officially inaugurated by Professor J. H. Hofmeyer, Administrator of Transvaal.
  In 1935 a fund raising was started to build an assembly hall and domestic science centre. Bernard Stanley Cooke was appointed as architect. Cooke  died in January 2011 at the age of 100. Mr Cooke was responsible for many Art Deco buildings in Johannesburg including Escom House and buildings of the Rand Easter Show grounds. He was also responsible for the drawings of the Tower of Light at the show grounds. Anton van Wouw, South Africa most renowned sculptor was commissioned to create a bas-relief depicting the "Groot Trek".
  Anton van Wouw’s work includes the statue of Paul Kruger on Church Square Pretoria, the Woman Memorial in Bloemfontein and statues at the Voortrekker Monument. Building of the hall started in July 1936 and the building and bas relief was inaugurated on 9 December 1938.
  In 1974 a statue of a Voortrekker Boy and Girl by the sculptor P Potgieter was  unveiled.
  In 1976 a new hall was inaugurated. The hall was named after the principal T. S. Welman.
  In 1999 Voortrekker became a dual medium school.
caption: Image of Morris arcade
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