The Berbice High School (BHS) is currently celebrating its 107th anniversary. To kick off its anniversary on Friday morning, a Fitness Walk was held around the town of New Amsterdam in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne.
BHS was established on 5th September 1916 initially as a Boys’ School, with nine being enrolled on the first day. By 1920, the school had started accommodating girls, but boys and girls were housed in separate buildings. The two schools continued their separate existence until 1924.
By the time the school was handed over to the Government of Guyana in 1966, there had been 741 pupils enrolled at the school.
On Friday morning, a ‘Fitness Walk’ dubbed ‘Refreshing the Mind’ was held with current and past students, along with teachers and parents of students. Sports Coordinator of the Allied Arts Department, Shenelly Kendall, explained that the school had received great support for the anniversary activities. She said a walk was decided upon because the school does not have very good runners.
“So we thought that a walk would be a very good way to start the morning, and to get the mind and body engaged, and also to explore the town,” she revealed. She pointed out that the school currently has many students who reside outside of the town, including on the West Coast of Berbice in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
“This is also a way for them to explore the town of New Amsterdam, where Berbice High School is located,” she explained.
The inter-house cricket competition was run off on Friday, while students will be engaged in learning the fundamentals of circle tennis next week.
“We have found out during research that circle tennis originated in Region Five, and it is almost a dying sport here in Guyana. Many of us don’t know how to play circle tennis. Our children, many of them don’t know about the game. So, this is a way for us to bring a bit of our athletic culture back to Berbice High School, and maybe to the region at large,” she explained.
The inter-house circle tennis competition will be held on Wednesday. During the school term, students will also be involved in athletics, football, basketball and table tennis. G-4
