The History and Heritage of Hugenote Kollege | Drakenstein Municipality

The scenic buildings and grounds of Hugenote Kollege add to the feel of a university town while crafting a historical environment in the heart of Wellington. This year, on February 28, Hugenote Kollege in Wellington celebrated its 72nd birthday.?

Reaching a milestone

The importance – especially for young people – of being skilled, trained, and educated cannot be emphasised enough. Only then can you thrive, and when individuals thrive, so does the community where they find themselves.?

As the college’s website proclaims, “the Programmes for Social Reformation, Theology, and Ministry aim to train social leaders” who dedicate themselves to improving society “regardless of social standing, wealth, culture, ethnicity or privilege.

Empowering students

Santana Matthews, a student at Hugenote Kollege studying Early Childhood Development, says her studies help her equip the future generation with the necessary skills to become respected and responsible adults. Her goal is to empower children to develop to their full potential.

From three to one

Hugenote Kollege has origins in three different educational institutions, all previously based in Wellington.

The three educational institutions that make up the college’s origin story are the Huguenot Seminary, the Huguenot University College, and Friedenheim.

The Huguenot Seminary was established many moons ago during the 1800s by the well-known and beloved Dr Andrew Murray. The Huguenot University College developed from the Huguenot Seminary.

The work of the first two teachers at the seminary, Abby P. Ferguson and Anna E. Bliss from Massachusetts, contributed to the development of several other institutions from the Huguenot Seminary. These include two schools (one for girls and one for boys) that later merged to become the Hugenote High School, a training college for teachers (which later became part of the Faculty of Education of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology), and the Hugenote Kollege (which reopened in 1951 as a training institution for social welfare workers and mission workers).

From the early 1970s to the end of 2012, Hugenote Kollege enjoyed an academic partnership with UNISA (University of South Africa), allowing them to offer graduate and post-graduate courses.

The Board of Directors then took the initiative to reposition the college as a private Christian post-school training institution.

Learn more about this institution and its impact on the community in Vars: https://online.flippingbook.com/view/877003677/28/