1928 tot 1941

Daar bestaan nie veel inligting oor die voor-geskiedenis van die skool nie. Daar was egter geen sekondêre skool in die Goodwood-area nie. Op 1 Augustus 1929 het Mnr I.J. Smuts, hoof van die laerskool, deur middel van sy skoolkomitee vertoë tot Dorpstraat 6 (die destydse hoofkwartier van die Onderwys Departement), gerig om toestemming te kry dat sy Standerd Ses-leerlinge in sy skool mag aanbly vir die Standerd Sewe-kursus. Sy versoek is egter deur die Onderwysdepartement van die hand gewys. Die antwoord was: "Die Onderwysdepartement bou aparte skole vir sekondêre leerlinge." Die gevolg was dat sekondêre leerlinge steeds elders moes gaan en "hul deel bydra om ander skole te voed en op te bou." 

In 1936 het Mnr J.N. de Villiers, ere-sekretaris van die Goodwoodse Skoolkomitee weereens die saak van sekondêre onderwysgeriewe in Goodwood met die owerhede op geneem. Daar is aangetoon dat die Goodwoodse bevolking "geweldig toegeneem" het. In 1937 het Bellville egter 'n sekondêre skool gekry ten spyte van die feit dat die aantal leerlinge in daardie gebied ongeveer ''die helfte van dié van Goodwood was." 

Van owerheidskant is die behoefte aan sekondêre onderwys in die Goodwood-area ingesien en 'n bedrag van £6 000 is by die 1938 - 39 begroting ingesluit vir die oprigting van 'n sekondêre skool in Goodwood. 

A new problem however arose in the quest to establish a secondary school in the Goodwood area. A suitable location for a secondary school had to be found which was accessible as well as central for pupils in the area. The Town Council offered an area of four acres between Main Road and the airport to the Administration. The parents however turned it down because they felt that it was not suitable for a school. Their reasons were:

•  the area was too noisy ("Hoe kan skoolkinders op hul skoolwerk konsentreer as vliegtuie oor hul hoofde 'n oorverdowende lawaai maak?"
• the land was not easily accessible to the majority of pupils

 The Town Council approached the Railway Administration to obtain a piece of land on the south side of the railway line. The Railway Administration however turned the offer down. Although the local golf club was considered as a suitable venue, the owners of the club were not prepared to part with it.

In 1938 Mr. P.J.H. Hofmeyr and Rev. H.J. Snyders approached the Urban Housing Bond (Stedelike Behuisingsbond) to make a piece of their land available for the building of a secondary school. On 20 May 1939, Mr de Villiers wrote a letter on behalf of the School Committee to the Urban Housing Bond: "Mr. Martin Adams, Jnr., kindly provided the attached sketch of a strip of ground which was inspected by my Committee and which is considered  suitable for the erection of the school. The ground is centrally situated in so far as the whole area, the school is to serve, is concerned and there should be no objection to its situation ..... the Committee shall be pleased if your company could see it way clear in providing the piece of land to the Cape School Board for the erection of the school .... my committee shall esteem it very much if the piece of land adjoining the suggested school site, could be reserved as playing  fields for the school."
As an interim arrangement, it was suggested that, without success, the Goodwood Town Hall should be rented at  £7 10s per month to serve as school. 
When the schools reopened at the beginning of 1940. there was still no secondary school in Goodwood. The press reported on 11 December 1940 that Mr Smuts led a deputation to the Administrator of the Cape Province, Capt F.A. Joubert. who was very surprised that the community had to wait, without success, for 11 years to get secondary school and promised that the problem would be addressed with urgency.
When the school reopened at the beginning of 1941, Goodwood Secondary School was one of them. They expected to start with 72 Standard Seven (Grade 9) pupils but only 38 enrolled. The school was housed in seven houses in Epping-Gardens. Pupils who did not live close to the school, had to travel by train or bus to Vasco station from where they had to walk towards the school. Three temporary teachers were employed to teach at the school. They were Mr. P.A. Van Der Spuy (acting principal),  Miss A. Visser and Mrs Van Rooyen. Mr van der Spuy and Mrs van Rooyen left the school at the end of March and were replaced by Mr P.J. Ehlers and Miss Smit. Mr Ehlers became the first official principal of the new school. 


Bron: Hoërskool Goodwood-Epping Jaarblad:m 1948