Life at Northwood
Facilities
Situated in the leafy suburb of Durban North, Northwood’s large campus boasts sweeping views of the Indian Ocean from many of its state-of-the-art classrooms and computer, science and technology laboratories. The school also takes pride in its world-class sporting facilities which include a flood-lit Hockey Astroturf, indoor cricket academy, heated aquatic facility, fully-equipped gymnasium, Sports Medicine Centre, as well as extensive rugby, cricket and soccer fields and tennis and basketball courts.
John Bruyns Boarding
Northwood’s private boarding establishment, Bruyns House, was established to accommodate boys from outside the immediate North Durban community who will make a meaningful contribution to the school.
Our boarding facility currently houses over 100 boarders from grade 8 to 12.
Beachwood House, Grade 8 Boarding House
Backing on to the Astro, is our recent purchase in Mathias Place. The home was originally a 6 bed, 6 bath bed and breakfast which is now home to our grade 8 boarders.
The Victor Daitz Centre for Innovation
The Victor Daitz Centre for Innovation was opened in 2021 after extensive planning and renovation of our Media Centre took place. The centre now facilitates computer coding, robotics and drone technology, with the relevant software and equipment in place.
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Astro-Turf
Northwood was the first school in KwaZulu Natal to build their own, on-campus, water-based Astro-turf. It was made possible through a partnership between numerous schools and the Durban North community. Flood lights were installed in 2010, which have allowed us to have even more practice time on the turf for all our teams.
The appointment of Shaun Baker as our director of hockey and 1st team coach has added new impetus to Northwood Hockey and we are confident that we will reach higher levels of excellence.
The following schools share the astro with Northwood: Northlands Girls, Northlands Primary and Chelsea Primary.
Each year we have a very large number of boys representing KZN hockey, in various age groups and some in SA hockey.
Players such as players Gowan Jones, Ken Forbes and Wayne Phillips, have at some stage called Northwood home.
2016 saw Northwood undertake the relaying of our astro. The new Greenfields Astro is the same as the last World Cup pitch that was played on in Holland in 2014.
MacFarquhar Hall
Named after former Principal R.C. MacFarquhar, this hall is one of the largest in the province, and has remained in good shape, despite it being at least 40 years old. This hall has hosted countless assemblies, musical productions, fashion shows and other events.
The Jubilee Room
Masterminded by long-serving former staff member Ron Dingley, the Jubilee Room opened its doors in 1999, commemorating 50 fifty years from the original high school at the girls site.
Its purpose is to entertain visiting headmasters and staff who attend various sports events hosted by Northwood; more recently, it also functions as a venue for a number of social occasions for staff and members of the wider Durban North community.
The Fitness Factory
The school gym came about as a result of Northwood’s involvement with the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Northwood was the training venue for Greece, who, sadly, made an early exit from the competition.
Currently owned and run by Old Boy Simon Vickers, the gym is where our boys train to increase their fitness as preparation for the sports seasons. Members of the Durban North community are also welcome to use the facility.
Sports fields
A further substantial benefit from our involvement with FIFA was the upgrading of our fields. Not only did they arrange for our main field to be levelled and irrigated, but we gained a set of floodlights, leaving us with some of the best sports fields in the province.
Our fields are named after illustrious sporting Old Boys. In the cricket season, our main field is named after Robin Smith, the famous England Test player; the junior pitch is named after Shaun Pollock, our former Proteas cricket captain. The lower campus field is named after Old Boy Brian Whitfield.
In the rugby season, the main field is named after Hugh Reece-Edwards, our former Springbok full back; field 2 is named after Warren Brosnihan, our former Springbok loose forward and current commentator for SuperSport.
Northwood is the only school in KZN with both a floodlight rugby field and Astro Turf.
Aquatic Centre
Our Olympic standard heated water polo pool and its surroundings are the centre of a thriving water polo community at Northwood. This very popular sport has an excellent parental support system, and is growing every year.
Northwood water polo is played in the 1st and 4th term and with the heated pool can practice year round. Northwood plays against the top 10 water polo schools in the province.
Classroom Facilities
All classrooms are equipped with either smart boards or data projectors, as well as being extensively covered by the school’s protected wifi network. There are a number of specialist classrooms including dedicated science labs, music room, art rooms and multi-purpose audio visual rooms.
In Grades eight and nine, the average number in each class is twenty-seven in the accelerated classes and twenty-five in the mixed ability classes. In Grades ten to twelve, class size ranges between twenty and twenty-eight, depending on the subject and the subject sets.
The Graham Lange Cricket Centre
The Graham Lange Cricket Centre was generously funded by a teacher at the school, Mr Graham Lange, who bequeathed money to the school, and comprises a 4 lane bowling facility.
All of Northwood’s cricket teams utilise the Academy on a scheduled basis, ensuring that all boys get quality and professional coaching.
Northwood Gear
This is the campus based school shop, where all sport and school wear can be purchased, and is open Tuesdays – Fridays.
Visit our Contact Page for trading hours and contact information
Northwood Sports Medicine Centre
Our sports medicine centre is open not only to boys but also to members of the public.
The group works closely with all our sports teams and coaches. Based at the sports medicine centre is a Physiotherapist, a Chiropractor, a Homeopath and a Psychologist.
Visit our Contact Page for more information
Music Centre
Northwood’s new music studio on the Lower Campus, boasts 3 keyboards, 2 pianos, music projection technology and a large rehearsal space, with plans to add recording capabilities and computer based compositional software in the near future.
This up-to-date facility allows boys to express themselves through a myriad of performance opportunities available at Northwood.