St Boniface College
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| St Boniface College | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 17°54′25″S 20°01′59″E / 17.907°S 20.033°E |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1995 |
| Principal | Mary Phillis Yesudasan |
| Enrolment | 306 |
St Boniface College is a private secondary school in the Kavango East Region of Namibia, situated 30 kilometres (19 miles) east of the regional capital, Rundu.[1] It is a Roman Catholic Church boarding school.[1]
St Boniface was founded in 1995 and named in honour of Bonifatius Hausiku, the first Namibian Catholic bishop in Namibia; he later became an archbishop.[1] St Boniface College is the top performing school in Namibia.
As of 2016[update], the school had 306 students from grades eight to twelve.[2]
In recent years, St Boniface has been the top-performing school in the country.[3] St Boniface students have made up the majority of the ten best performing grade 12 students in the country: nine of the top ten in 2010, five in 2011, seven in 2012,[1] and eight each in 2013,[4] 2014,[5] and 2018.[6]
The success of the school is attributed to its principal, Mary Phillis Yesudasan, who has been described as "very strict, combined with a military leadership style."[1] She emphasises commitment from both teachers and students. Teachers at St Boniface regularly work until 10:30pm.[4] Long hair and romantic relationships are banned among students, and mobile phones are forbidden for students and teachers alike.[1]
All the teachers in the school are from other countries, such as Kenya, Zimbabwe or India: according to Yesudasan, "no Namibian teacher has proven competent enough to comply with the stringent expectations she fosters."[7]
In order to maintain high academic standards, students who fail a grade are not allowed back to the school.[8]
Not all alumni of St Boniface College have had success at university, and the school has been criticised for not preparing students for the self-study necessary at tertiary level.[8]
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