In the summer of 2024 106 BGS pupils and 11 staff travelled to South Africa for a thirteen-day sports tour, playing hockey (boys and girls), rugby and netball. To find out more about this trip of a lifetime, read the tour diary.
Day 1 – Travel Day
Sunday afternoon 106 pupils and 11 staff assembled en masse to the Sports Hall to sort themselves into their family groups, check their baggage weights, pack the hockey sticks and for the last bits of admin information to be shared. Buses were then loaded up and the touring party headed off to Heathrow for an overnight flight to Johannesburg for what will be an experience of a lifetime.
Day 2 – Transition Day
‘Jock the Croc’ safely delivered 117 people to South Africa finally reaching Cape Town Monday late afternoon having seen over 200 bags find their way to our destination at The Portswood Hotel close to the V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain as its backdrop. Having everyone distributed to their rooms, no mean feat organising plenty of tired bodies, each Family Group headed on down to get some dinner in their families: “Where would you like to go and eat?” one staff member asked their group - “Nando’s” they replied - “So, you’ve flown to the other side of the world just to go to Nando’s”.
Day 3 – Langa Township & Game Day 1 v. Brackenfell Hoërskool
May and June’s rainfall decided to come in off the Atlantic and it poured down all morning whilst we visited the Langa township. The locals were very happy for the rain so that the dams could be restocked with water. Langa is the oldest informal settlement in Cape Town established in 1927 which was designated for Black Africans before the apartheid era. Pupils learned about its historical significance and the forced removals, its sporting life, and the various marches and uprisings that occurred in the past. We visited the primary school, walked through some of the living areas and went inside one of the resident's houses, which was just one small room. They also learnt how different arts & crafts projects have been set-up to support people creating their own businesses.
The touring party then went to the famous Sheila’s Restaurant for lunch within the township to taste some home cooked local food and listen to some African music as a well as sing along to some of the tunes. Due to the amount of rainfall the Hockey and Netball matches were cancelled during the morning, but Mr Carr and Mr Hill popped in a taxi to head to Brackenfell Hoërskool for a pitch inspection with their Director of Sport. On arrival, with two massive puddles on the pitch, we cancelled the rugby matches as well. We agreed to come back later in the early evening for the hospitality that they had prepared for us.
After a change of clothing, we headed back to the school where the players shared a meal, engaged in great conversations with their opponents and played a game of “touch” rugby in the car park. We then headed to the Athlone Stadium just down the road to watch England beat South Africa in the U20 Rugby World Championship to close out Day 3.
Day 4 – Cape Peninsula Tour (Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point, African Penguins)
Due to the weather coming in off the Atlantic Ocean our planned excursion to Robben Island, the place where Nelson Mandela was held in prison during Apartheid for 18 years, was postponed as the ferries were not allowed to set sail. Then our planned cable car ride up to Table Mountain in the afternoon was also postponed as the winds were too high.
So post breakfast we set off early on our guided tour around the Cape Peninsula which saw us drive past the big boulders in Camps Bay, stand on the most south-western tip of Africa at ‘The Cape of Good Hope’, see where the Indian & Atlantic oceans collide at Cape Point and refuelled at a restaurant. In the afternoon we visited the African penguin colony at Boulders beach in Simons Town. This colony is one of only a few in the world. For our evening meal we headed to the local Spur Restaurant on the V&A Waterfront which enabled us to watch the England Euros semi-final against Holland to round off day.
Day 5 – Surfing & Game Day 2 v. Melkbosstrand Hoërskool
Due to a storm that came in off the Atlantic Ocean which affected the whole of the Western Cape region, where over 15,000 people felt the full force of the very strong winds and down pours, the government Education Department took the decision to close some schools the day before. This meant that our sports fixtures planned for Game Day 2 could not take place in the afternoon as the school we were due to play is located north of the city right along the coastline above Bloubergstrand, a place made famous for its picture-perfect postcard views of Table Mountain across the bay.
The pre-arranged surfing trip still went ahead on Muizenberg beach within False Bay on the Indian Ocean side of Table Mountain in the morning. Unfortunately, due to the clouds, Table Mountain was still hiding from view so we were unable to head up there. We therefore chilled back at the hotel, some took a short walk around the shops and dipped into the freezing swimming pool.

Day 6 – Beach Games, Team Challenges & African cuisine experience
With the tweaking of the schedule for Day 4, plus the weather still not being kind to us for the excursion to Robben Island and the trip up Table Mountain, meant that we decided to head to Camps Bay for beach games and team challenges. The activity saw different groups make their sandcastles and the sun finally came out. In the evening the group headed to the Gold Restaurant for an African Cuisine experience.
Day 7 – Game Day 3 v. De Kuilen Hoërskool
The weather had finally relented which enabled all our sports fixtures to go ahead against De Kuilen Hoërskool in Kuilsriver just outside Stellenbosch. What an experience it was for everyone! To have three sports (Hockey, Netball and Rugby), different age groups (U16 and U18) and both boys & girls fixtures concurrently playing in 10 teams was a sight to behold. Over a hundred pupils can now say they represented BGS in South Africa on the sports field. All matches were competitive and played in great spirits. Both girls’ Hockey teams won convincingly as well as the boys’ Hockey team. The Netballers did well indoors with the U16s losing 18-9, the U17s won 28-7 and the U18s won 34-22. On the Rugby front the U16s won 35-17 and the U18s won 47-0. The post-match function saw players interact with their opponents and swap tour stash which enabled players to share some of the traditions of what touring offers you.
Back at the hotel in the afternoon everyone had downtime to either check out the V&A Waterfront Mall, the various craft shops on display, watch the South Africa v. Ireland rugby match on the big screen, recover in the freezing pool or chill out in the sauna. The sun came out, the clouds cleared and Table Mountain finally appeared.

Day 8 – Transfer Day & Euros Final
After an early check-out post breakfast and a short journey to Cape Town International Airport for our flight up to Johannesburg, then saw our transfer across to the hotel in Pretoria. For dinner, a big BBQ was laid on for us by the hotel providing a great pre-match build-up for the England v. Spain Euros football final. We watched the match on a big screen outside by the pool which added to the atmosphere. The result didn’t go England’s way and many tears and unhappy faces headed off to bed.
Day 9 – Lion and Safari Park & Lesedi Cultural Village
In the morning, we headed to the Lion & Safari Park, a short drive away, where we went on guided tours to see the game and wildlife around the park. The caged trucks enabled us to get up close and personal feeding Giraffes and witness Lions jumping up to give us a roaring welcome. We were also able to get very close to Leopards and Hyenas and drive past Cheetahs, Zebras and other game animals. An unforgettable experience!
In the afternoon we visited the Lesedi Cultural Village, a World Heritage site, which was a fascinating exploration of Africa’s tribal history. We learnt about the numerous tribes that found are throughout South Africa that connects the past with the present. We walked into miniature villages to see how they lived and heard about the key differences in each culture. The tour ended with a performance of the different dances followed by another African cuisine experience, this time a Boma.
Day 10 – Game Day 4 v. Eldoraigne Hoërskool
Having fuelled their bodies at breakfast, we then headed on out for our second set of sports fixtures against Eldoraigne Hoërskool a short drive away. Beautiful sunshine was on our backs, a stark contrast to our matches in Cape Town, as the pupils walked around the school grounds checking out the facilities which included a huge grandstand down the side of the main rugby pitch. The 3 girls’ hockey matches were up first followed by the boys’ U16 Hockey and Rugby matches. The afternoon was rounded off by the boys’ U18 Hockey and Rugby matches.
All matches were a step-up from the ones in Cape Town and all the players raised their performance levels. In the girls’ Hockey the 3rds lost 6-0 and the 1sts & 2nds both won 2-1. In the boys’ Hockey matches, the U16s won 3-2 and the U18s lost 1-0. In Rugby, the U16s played a cracking game, never gave up and lost 39-27. The U18s matched the physicality and intensity of their opponents narrowly losing 12-7.
For the post-match function, we headed out to a local restaurant where the players mixed with their opposition, enjoyed their hospitality, and swapped tour stash again. Post meal the DJ kicked in and the dance moves came out with everyone hitting the dance floor to round off the night. Day 10 epitomised what sports touring is all about as it had everything!

Day 11 – Transfer & Evening Game Drive
Saw us check out the hotel and headed to the Bakubung Lodge Game Reserve 175km away from Pretoria. After having a short moment of relaxation on arrival, the touring party boarded their Game Drive trucks and headed out to the bush. We didn’t have to wait long to see some of the beautiful animals within the reserve. Some trucks saw elephants in the distance playing in the water, others saw the same herd come up close to their trucks. Later on in the afternoon some trucks saw Giraffes, White Rhinos, a Lion cub eating their dinner in a bush as well as Zebras and Wildebeests roaming the plains. Then during a short stop at a lake we also saw a couple of Hippos and Crocodiles.
On the way back to have our dinner in the bush some trucks stumbled across a large family of elephants casually walking down the road. Dinner was an African BBQ followed by a musical band playing cultural music around a large campfire.
Day 12 – Early morning Game Drive & Overnight Flight
After a 5:30am alarm call, we gathered at the trucks for a second Game Drive to explore the wilderness again. Heading out of camp in the dark and very cold temperatures, we witnessed the beautiful sunrise across the plains which was a sight to behold. Some of the trucks were very lucky to see two Leopards and others saw a Rhino. After a coffee break midway the drives continued and on the way back to the Lodge some trucks observed Hippos chilling by a lake. After breakfast we boarded the buses to make our way to O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for our overnight flight back to Heathrow.
Day 13 – Return to BGS
After the long flight, with everyone collecting their bags, we then boarded our coaches and headed West along the M4 to get back to school in good time where we were warmly greeted by all the waiting family members.
A special mention must go to Mr Lacey for co-ordinating the tour and all the organisation that went on behind the scenes to make this once in a lifetime opportunity come to fruition for everyone involved. Thank you also to all the members of staff who looked after and cared for a ‘family’ throughout the trip. Then finally to the 106 BGS pupils who were a credit to their families and the BGS Community. They gave their all on the sports fields of South Africa across 16 fixtures and made memories that will last a lifetime. Bing Bong out!