SCHOOL TOURS
Each year hundreds of school children are taken on tours which allow them to enjoy this part of their heritage .
Tours often start at the Heritage Education Centre, high up in the attics of the old Parktown Convent (now Holy Family College). Two classrooms furnished as for the year the school opened, 1905 give the pupils a chance to experience the joys of dip-pens, blotting paper and inkwells. Stereoscopes replace the modern teaching aids , while the cane and dunce's cap remind them that their great-grandparents endured much stricter discipline than prevails today.
The school museum allows us to expand on other aspects of early schooling: boarding school, Imperial measures, the strong religious training in the convent, as well the selfless dedication of the sisters of the Holy Family.
School tours are customised to suit the teacher and the field of study.
Sponsored tours are available to disadvantaged schools on request when we have the funds.
We Cover :
- History of Johannesburg from 1892 till 1922
- Art in terms of the crafts practised and interior decoration
- History of Art: the architecture of Sir Herbert Baker, architectural styles : Edwardian Eclecticism, Arts and Crafts, Art Deco
- History of Art: the architecture of Sir Herbert Baker, architectural styles : Edwardian Eclecticism, Arts and Crafts, Art Deco


A visit to the Chapel is followed by a trip back in time to the Edwardian Classroom, dip pens and all

In the classroom

Writing with dip pens

Wearing pinafores
In October 2008 55 learners from New Nation School spent a day enjoying a trip back in time to the Edwardian Classroom, dip pens and all.
There was no need to flex the cane or haul out the Dunce's cap. These learners behaved beautifully, a fine example of role-playing that children in the 21st century seldom emulate.

Last Edit : 15/1/2009