In 1972 I came to St. Andrew’s High School as a volunteer teacher from England. Mr Hornsby was the Principal and Vili Vete and his wife Sela were teachers. I was aged 18 and enjoyed my time here and on the basis of my experience I decided to become a teacher and worked for 26 years in several secondary schools in the UK and then 9 years in teacher training. Now fully retired and aged 69 I have returned for a short time to visit Tonga and St Andrews again.
The school is much as I remember though there was no School Hall in those days and fewer classrooms. Sela is still here, running the school library at the age of 81. I am staying in the flat which was occupied by Leslie and Margaret Waddams who were living in 1972 and the school is still as lively and busy as ever.
I remember how the inter-school sports was an important event on the calendar and so it is today with four days of events at Teufaiva Stadium next door to the school.
The singing is still excellent though most lessons are now in Tongan whereas in 1972 much of the teaching was in English and there were 11 overseas teachers from New Zealand, Australia, USA (Peace Corps) and the UK and 13 Tongan teachers. It is evident that the Tongan culture strongly permeates the school and society which is a good thing.
Tonga should be proud of its country and people who have been resilient in the face of many natural disasters, the latest being the 2022 tsunami.
As regards Tonga the most noticeable thing is the number of cars on the road. In 1972 we could cycle and walk down Hala Taufa’Ahau and meet very little traffic with many people walking into town; now it is a continuous stream of cars. There are more substantial houses and new Government buildings. The Tongan people though are still as friendly and cheerful as ever.
Richard Vickery
April 2023
