Just recently, students from Pakati Secondary school have had a practical History lesson, relating to a local site of significant historical interest.
From Mr Chizenya, Secondary school Head recently: “Ms Musindo and Mr Chadenga engaged on a local tour with learners in late May 2026. They went to see some rock paintings at a cave in the Chadenga village. It is believed that the paintings were done by the early inhabitants of Central and Southern Africa, that is the San people.”
During the time I lived & worked in Zimbabwe, I saw & read a book on Rock Art in Zimbabwe. This is the book: “The Painted Caves: An Introduction to the Prehistoric Art of Zimbabwe” by Peter Garlake (1987): Widely considered the definitive guide to prehistoric cave art in northern Zimbabwe. It provides excellent site descriptions and context for Mashonaland.
The images above from the hill Gwangwadza are during a number of visits to the site by both myself and Debbie Chadbon. The location is one of those mentioned in Peter Garlake’s book mentioned above.
This video is from the students trip, discussing some of the paintings they found.
It would appear that there are a number of similar sites in the area, indicating there would have been settlements dating back to around 600AD at least. This would pre-date the Great Zimbabwe ruins, thought to have been built from around 900AD onwards over 200 years.
The two pictures of Great Zimbabwe above were taken by me in 1990 when on holiday with my parents, travelling around Zimbabwe.
It is widely recognised in Education that if students experience things for themselves, they will get a better understanding from that experience than simply reading from a textbook, no matter how well written or illustrated it might be.
It is encouraging to see that Pakati Secondary are able to use the local environment wisely to support the students & try to make their learning experiences more real. It can only help them understand the world around them.
