Born out of an idea from a St Cyprian’s social justice lesson, Blues Bash is an initiative to raise awareness and money for a cause during Women’s Month. It is a student-led collaboration between St Cyprian’s and Bishops College, our brother school, and sees the two schools coming together to compete on the sports field, court and AstroTurf in soccer, basketball, hockey and netball.  

Our St Cyprian's students have been inspired by Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph and Sophia Williams, the women of courage and purpose who led more than 20 000 women as they marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 9 August 1956 to protest against the apartheid-era pass laws. Sophia Williams, who was only 18 years old at the time, was particularly inspirational.

Since 2023, we have partnered with MENstruation Foundation – End Period Poverty in the quest to end period poverty. The initiative has since raised enough money to install three state-of-the-art sanitary product-dispensing machines in schools in Cape Town to provide relief to some of the eight million South African women who cannot attend school or work for up to two weeks every month due to menstruation.

 Our students created awareness by encouraging conversation, posing the question: how much does your period cost? The numbers were overwhelmingly high. If it costs someone who has the means to buy proper sanitary products upwards of R100 a month, imagine the unseen costs for those who don’t: missing work or school, losing out on income or vital information, or even the emotional trauma that comes with the shame they are exposed to.

BluesBash aims to open up our students to asking themselves difficult questions, having honest conversations and raising awareness on behalf of those who can’t do it themselves. 

Our students are empowering women. Period!