Buffalo City schools featured in the top 25% of 210 schools in the country in the Top Boys Sports Schools for 2023.
SA Schools Sports released its official list SA’s top performing schools last week.
Selborne College scooped 30th spot with 66.43 points, followed by Hudson Park High in 46th place with 40.664, and Stirling High in 51st position with 36.133.
Compiled over the last 10 years, the SA Schools list attempts to give insight into the development of the highly- competitive terrain of high school sports.
The list is compiled to provide parents, pupils, and schools with a reliable guide on the progress of national school sports.
Schools are ranked according to the performances of their first teams in rugby, cricket, hockey, soccer, basketball and waterpolo.
The rankings favour schools that have demonstrated consistency across all designated sports codes.
The schools were awarded points according to a stringent weighting system, with rugby awarded a double weighting, while smaller sporting codes such as basketball and water polo were weighted lower.
The top three positions in the country were scooped by Hilton College in first place with 107 points, closely followed by the Western Cape’s Paul Roos Gym with 104.4 points, and KES High School with 104.3.
The top 10 schools are predominately made up of KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng schools, which have dominated in the school sports circuit given their access to more resources and financial support. Selborne College moved seven spaces down from its ranking last year in 23rd place, while Hudson Park moved up from 46th to 57th position, and Stirling from 51st to 87th spot.
Hudson’s head of rugby, Lwazi Zangqa, said the school was thrilled with its ranking for this year and that it affirmed the school’s commitment to sporting excellence, especially in the wake of the pandemic, which saw it, like other schools, having to fight to revive a robust school sports programme.
The school boasts a number of national and provincial representatives this year across different sporting codes.
Zangqa said: “Our rank improved this year because we have been very driven towards mass participation.
“The more numbers you have, the more competitive the sport, which breeds competition among the children.
“This has helped us a great deal and will continue to do so in future and the focus is on getting the best facilitators in each sporting code.
“It is always difficult to change a culture, especially one that has been forced by a pandemic.
“Reiterating the importance of physical activity to learners has been the focus this year and it will take time for the message to hit home, however, it’s one that’s important for us.”
Stirling headmaster Doug Prior said the school was proud of it’s significant leap in the rankings.
Head of sport, Tyrone Warner, commended the cricket and rugby first teams for their commitment to consistently punching above their weight.
Prior said: “We are pleased with the final placing of our boys sports teams this year, putting us in the top handful of co-ed schools in the country.
“Our achievement in these rankings is based on just the six sports codes ranked nationally.
“But we are also proud of the 17 national sports representatives we have had this year in other sports codes, including three national tennis representatives.”
Warner said: “It’s always a challenge for us to retain our top sports stars as they are often approached by other schools, especially those from KZN.
“To maintain our rank next year, we aim to improve on standards and performances and ensure we have excellent facilities, and wherever possible, to make sure all our teams are well-prepared and have the best coaching staff.”
