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From 1902 the iris
was the school's emblem and was used on Prize-giving
Programmes and other stationery. For example in 1909
Adriana de Jager designed the Iris which was used on
a beautiful card sent to the Dutch Government on the
occasion of the birth of the Princess of Orange. It
was only in November 1916, though, that the Old Girls
Association Notes in Liber Puellarum (the school magazine)
record that “the School has now a Coat of
Arms. It was designed by Miss Aitken and Miss Anderson,
and submitted to Mr Donald Robertson, who kindly made
suggestions, which render it heraldically correct. The
old motto, 'We work in hope' has now been turned into
a Latin equivalent, 'Prosit Spes Labori'. The badge
is being prepared in silk for the present pupils, and
in silver and enamel for life members of the Old Girls
Association. Any life member of the Old Girls Association
can obtain the badge (price 4s) on application to Miss
Aitken.”
 In
1936 the school's coat of arms was registered by the
State Herald and in 1990 a certificate bearing the coat
of arms and confirmin the 1936 registration was presented
to the school by Mr F G Brownell, State Herald. The
school magazine of that year includes an explanation
of our coat of arms.
It is accepted heraldic practice in
the English-speaking world to depict the arms of an
unmarried lady or widow on a lozenge (a diamond-shaped
shield). Although a body corporate, whether or not its
members are all women, is regarded in heraldry as being
masculine and should bear arms on a shield in the ordinary
manner, there is a notable precedent for bearing such
arms on a lozenge. When the College of Arms in London
granted arms to Girton College, Cambridge, the first
women's college established at that university, despite
considerable male opposition, these arms were depicted
on a lozenge to place heraldic emphasis on the fact
that the new College was specifically for women. The
depiction of the arms of the Pretoria High School for
Girls on a lozenge makes a similar, bold heraldic statement.
In 1954 the arms of St Patrick's Girl's High School,
in Canada, were granted by Lord Lyon of Scotland who
also permitted them to display and use the arms on a
lozenge. Thus our school is one of probably only three
institutions in the world which bear arms in this way.
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