Jan H. Hofmeyr School of Social Work

History

The colloquial name for the Jan H. Hofmeyr School of Social Work in Johannesburg, is simpl the Hofmeyr School in Johannesburg. It was founded in 1941 and started operating on January 15, 1941 in Eloff Street, Johannesburg, under directorship of Congregational minister Rev. Ray E. Phillips. The School was funded with help from theYoung Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and the Afrikaner philanthropist Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr. Hofmeyr was Minister of Finance and of Education under Jan Smuts in 1939, and also president of cd municipal building that also housed the Johannesburg City Council's Jubilee Social Centre. From 1949 the school functioned independently from the YMCA (Cobley 1997:148-49).

After the National Party gained power in 1948, the apartheid state stopped subsidizing private education, and the Jan Hofmeyr School was forced to close in 1960

Apparently actress and director Leontine Sagan taught there for a while.

Alumni

Students who had trained at the School included:

Gibson Kente (1932-2004), playwright, Winnie Mandela (Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela), Louis Petersen [1917-2002], music administrator

Sources

Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_H._Hofmeyr_School_of_Social_Work

Gray and Mazibuko, 2002:198

For more information

See also Jan H. Hofmeyr School of Social Work

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