he first rugby match to be played in Rhodesia is reputed to have taken place on the sandy riverbed of the Shashi River between two teams drawn from the Pioneer Column and the B.S.A. Company Police.

ince then a strong tradition of competitive sport has grown up in Rhodesia and is actively sponsored in the schools and colleges which were established on the English pattern. Plumtree School Chapel behind the sports field is illustrated in this panel of the National Tapestry; this school is only one of a number of Rhodesian schools with proud traditions of service to the country.

he most popular sport in Rhodesia is rugby but cricket, tennis, hockey and soccer all have considerable followings among the youth of the country. The first three games tend to be the province of the European schools and clubs, while African boys excel at soccer and also at athletics and boxing. African girls as yet have not entered the field to the same extent as boys.

frican education for many years lay largely in the hands of the Missions although subsidised by the Government, but more children are now being educated at Government Schools. In 1971 there were over 670 000 Africans attending the country’s schools. Rhodesia leads the rest of Africa (South Africa apart) in having 91.5 per cent of school-agers at school. Primary schools are available for all African children, and advanced education is provided for those qualifying. African students attending the University College of Rhodesia receive Government grants.

ighteen Teachers’ Training Colleges are in existence, but there is a serious shortage of qualified teachers, and a considerable language barrier which only adult education and costly language courses will eradicate.

rganizations like the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Outward Bound, Junior Red Cross and the Boys Brigade cater for young people of all races. But Rhodesian youth is noted for its individuality. The country’s boys and girls are never so happy as when they are exploring the lesser known parts of Rhodesia, fishing her rivers and lakes, studying her flora, rock-climbling, hunting or photographing the plentiful wild life, and camping out in the veld. Here they experience again the joys their pioneer forebears knew in the simple life to be found in a land of wide horizons.