William Lloyd Primary School is not only known for its good sports and academic achievements, but also as the local school with the oldest drum majorette tradition.
Its drum majorettes have also been selected to represent South Africa at the World Majorette Championship in September.
The drum majorettes, one of 14 sporting codes practised by William Lloyd Primary, were started in 1982. This extremely disciplined sport is mainly a sport for girls, and is very popular at the school.
As with any other sport, it instils constructive disciplines such as timeliness, responsibility, commitment, even punctuality.
Parents are actively involved, especially in fundraising activities, which play a very important part in the lives of drummies, especially in terms of assisting girls from lower income groups in being part of the team.
They train three days a week, between two and three hours per session, and the girls have to be very focused to remember the different routines.
William Lloyd is the reigning Boland champ of champs. At the Boland Championship they obtained first place as non-pon group (non-prop), flag group, throwing prop group, baton, small drill and large drill.
Eight learners received their Boland colours.
Another achievement with which they can boast is taking part in the South African Championship this year. William Lloyd drummies were one of three Boland teams who took part in the Elite section of the championship.
“We obtained overall 11th place in the National Champ of Champs,” explained deputy principal and chief trainer Adrienne Thomas, “all because of our high standard.”
This hard work for the achievements of the drummies is attributed to Thomas, who started her school career at William Lloyd in 1982, and has taken the initiative to start drumming at the school.
For the past 36 years, the school has always been a strong contender in Boland and at the South African championships.
It still drives the sport, and one of the reasons for the success of the drummies is the good relationship the school has with parents. William Lloyd believes in parent involvement in the education and sports of their children.
“The support of the school is paramount in the success of a team,” says Thomas. Further, she says, it takes hours of practice to be successful. Thomas speaks highly of the drummies committee and the many hours in.
As a senior coach in the Boland Majorette Association, she plays an active roll in the growth of majorettes in the Boland.
Thomas has been part of the Boland executive for 30 years, and apart from being the chief trainer of William Lloyd, she is also one of the Boland Majorette Senior Provincial team trainers.
She takes particular pride in building a community through working with children through education and sport.
