The 23rd Inter-schools between Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof and Meisieskool Oranje will take place at Bloemhof this weekend. In addition to the girls of these two schools meeting on the hockey field and netball court, there will also be debates, chess and, for the first time, volleyball will be played this year. The complete program can be downloaded at www.bloemhofschool.co.za/interskole.
SPORT
The interschools will officially start at 08:00 on Friday, August 16 as the two schools cross-country teams tackle each other. Bloemhof are defending champions after winning in 2017 and again in 2018. Three teams from each school will also hash it out on the tennis courts from 9AM. Bloemhof and Orange’s u.19A tennis teams play on Bloemhof Courses 1, 2 and 4, the u.19B’s play on Bloemhof Courses 5 and 6 and the u.15A’s play on Rhenish’s tennis courts.
Tennis promises to be a highlight as two of SA’s best under-19 players, Rochelle Pienaar (Bloemhof) and Linge Steenkamp (Orange) tackle each other. In this year’s final of the Amanda Coetzer tournament, Bloemhof scraped a hard-fought victory.
Oranje is considered one of the best hockey schools in the country and from 14:00 the two schools will compete at the Bloemhof Investec Astro.
CULTURE
The two schools’ choirs will sing at Koorklanke in the Hugo Lambrechts Auditorium. Bloemhof Choir’s name is Accelerando (a.k.a. Marijke De Villiers-Roos) and Oranje’s Choir’s name is Con Spirito (a.k.a. Stefan Buys). A concert will be held at the Bloemhof Center from 11:00. The choirs will perform again, and Bloemhof’s two orchestras – Musica Perpetua (wind orchestra) and Stringendo (string ensemble) and Oranje’s Marimba band will perform.
There are also items in drama, singing and dancing on the cultural menu. Two debates will be held: one between two junior teams (grades 8-9) and one between two senior teams (grades 10-12). Here too Bloemhof are the defending champions.
FUN
At 14:00 the Inter-schools Table Tennis will take place. This matric tradition is always fun and very popular, so this year it is complemented by a volleyball game, also between the matriculants of the two schools. Think face-to-face, great music and a lot of, very, very good spirit. Especially if the schools decide to exchange teammates! On a more serious and quieter note are the chess matches that also start at 2PM. Here, the Oranjenites have been the champions for the past six years and will be presented again this year after not taking place last year.