Paul Roos Gymnasium

Paul Roos Gymnasium is a public, dual medium (Afrikaans & English) high school for boys in the town of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province of South Africa, which opened on 1 March 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium. It is the 12th oldest school in the country. In 1910, the school was renamed Stellenbosch Boys' High School. In 1946 the school moved to new buildings in Krigeville and was renamed Paul Roos Gymnasium after Paul Roos, old boy and captain of the first Springbok team, was himself a teacher at the school, and was the school's rector from 1910 to 1940, after which the school was renamed in his honour. A notable characteristic of the school is its gees (Afrikaans for spirit) and their famous fight song "Old boys of Paul Roos" which has the melody of "Flower of Scotland" in remembrance of the first three Scottish rectors, which they sing with their old boys. Paul Roos Gymnasium has produced more Springbok rugby players than any other school (54). It is also the school with the most players in the 2019 Rugby World Cup including five Springboks: Schalk Brits, Willie le Roux, Steven Kitshoff, Herschel Jantjies, Damian Willemse and Braam Steyn who played for Italy. Though Paul Roos Gymnasium is a school for boys from grade 8 to 12, the curriculum includes some subjects presented in conjunction with the two sister schools, Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof and Rhenish. The school is dual medium; Afrikaans- and English-speaking pupils study under one roof, but classes are largely separated according to mother tongue. The school shares sport and internet facilities with Stellenbosch University. School facilities include a library and computer labs. Sports facilities include hockey fields, the Markötter rugby fields, a swimming pool, an Olympic Waterpolo Aquatic Centre, tennis courts, and a gymnasium. The main residential facilities are the two school hostels (dormitories) called Prima and Prima Nova. They accommodate 245 boarders, mainly from South Africa and Namibia.