If you’ve watched the chilling Netflix series Adolescence, you will know why it’s stuck with us. The show highlights the dire state of schooling in the United Kingdom – bullying, alienation, and an overwhelming sense of teenage despair permeate every minute of every episode.
Sure, it’s an exaggerated portrayal, but not entirely wide of the mark. That said, it’s good to remember that it’s just one version of youth. There’s another kind… louder, weirder, arguably more chaotic and a whole lot more fun, which is out there too. Enter: South African war cries.
The Currency team was divided over whether we liked the boater bashing and maniacal screaming of “I said a boom a chicka boom” when we were actually at school. But we have found ourselves grinning at the recent viral spate of local high schools singing war cries that have hit our phones. Who knew that there’d be something oddly comforting about the sheer joy and collective chaos of teenagers screaming their lungs out en masse?
We were first hooked by a reel of pupils from Curro Durbanville High School. In them, learners pulled off a brilliantly, wildly choreographed war cry, using their blazers to create visual effects – on and off, on and off – set to a mashup of chanting, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King. Side note: they’ve seriously raised the bar since our day. Even American actress Jennifer Garner shared their moves on Instagram!
War cries have deep roots – originating as traditional chants or songs used by groups, especially in military settings or on battlefields, to boost morale, intimidate opponents or build a sense of unity. In South Africa, they’ve evolved into a beloved part of school culture, especially at sports events, where students perform rhythmic, call-and-response chants to fire up their teams and declare school pride – very loudly, and often in perfect sync.
5FM’s War Cry Championship Competition is certainly partly responsible for the resurgence in popularity of this art form. They recently gave R20,000 to the school with the best school battle cry – for the second year running. The contest is open to institutions across the country, and the rivalry was fierce: from Johannesburg’s St Mary’s Waverley and Sacred Heart College, to Northwood School in Durban and Cape Town’s Wynberg Boys’ High School, loads of learners got involved. The energy was palpable, the choreography complex, and the synchronisation seriously impressive.
And just to stress – hell’s bells but the kids of today put us 90s youngsters to shame. Just look at the 2025 competition winners: Jeppe Girls, with their fierce girl-power chant that put the war in war cry (they could take an actual battlefield, complete with saxophones and marimbas); St Stithians Boys’ College, whose chant was so intense we live in fear of meeting any of them in a dark alley; and the red-and-white-bedecked Redhill, whose drum-backed cry was practically a full percussion ensemble.
Sure, we’ve got our issues – this is South Africa, after all. The economy’s wild, the news is rarely boring, and Delusional Donald says terrible things are happening here… but we’ve also got something going for us, and it’s delightfully loud and furious.
Sign up to Currency’s weekly newsletters to receive your own bulletin of weekday news and weekend treats. Register here.
