Mount Pleasant, Harare


Mount Pleasant is a residential suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe, located in the northern part of the city. Originally a farm, the area was developed for housing in the early 20th-century and was a white suburb until Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. Today, Mount Pleasant is a multiracial community and is one of Harare's more affluent suburbs.
Mount Pleasant contains a number of shopping centres and businesses. The suburb is home to three secondary schools and five primary schools. The University of Zimbabwe, the oldest and top-ranked university in Zimbabwe, is located in Mount Pleasant, as are Zimbabwe Open University and Arrupe Jesuit University. There are two athletic clubs in Mount Pleasant, the Old Georgians Sports Club and Mount Pleasant Sports Club. The area is represented in Parliament by the Mount Pleasant constituency. Mount Pleasant is bordered by the Vainona, Borrowdale West, Emerald Hill, Belgravia, and Marlborough suburbs.

History

Mount Pleasant was originally a farm, also named Mount Pleasant, until it was developed for residential housing beginning in 1902.

Geography

Mount Pleasant is located in the northern part of Harare, and is bordered by the Vainona, Borrowdale West, Emerald Hill, Belgravia, and Marlborough suburbs.

Economy

Mount Pleasant also contains a number of office parks and shopping centres, notably Arundel Office Park, Arundel Village Shopping Centre, The Bridge Shopping Centre, Bond Shopping Centre and Pendennis Shopping Centre. The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council is also headquartered in Mount Pleasant. It also houses the Agriculture and Research Trust Farm, which engages in research and development of agricultural practices. Mount Pleasant Business Park is home to a number of businesses, including the headquarters of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.

Education

Mount Pleasant is home to three universities, three secondary schools, and five primary schools, including both public and private educational institutions. Mount Pleasant's public schools are within the North Central District of Harare Province. Mount Pleasant has two public primary schools, North Park Primary School and Groombridge Primary School. The private schools in Mount Pleasant are Correspondence School, Goldbrook Junior College, and Northwood Adventist Primary School, a Seventh-day Adventist Church-affiliated school. Northwood, which opened in 2014 with 273 students, was ranked one of the top 100 grade 7 schools in Zimbabwe in 2014.
Mount Pleasant is served by one public high school, Mount Pleasant School. There are two private secondary schools in Mount Pleasant: Arundel School, a boarding and day school for girls ages 12–18, and Harare International School, a coeducational day school for students grades Pre-K–12; both schools have enrollments of around 500 students. All three of Mount Pleasant's high schools were included in a 2014 ranking of Africa's top 100 secondary schools. Arundel was ranked 48th, Harare International at 54th, and Mount Pleasant School placed at 65th.
The main campus of the University of Zimbabwe, the oldest and top-ranked university in Zimbabwe, is located at the southern edge of the suburb. Zimbabwe Open University, a distance education institution and the largest university by enrollment in Zimbabwe, is based in Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant is also home to Arrupe Jesuit University, one of two Catholic universities in Zimbabwe and one of only two Jesuit universities in Africa.

Government and politics

Mount Pleasant does not have its own police station and relies on the police station in the Marlborough suburb. Irregular city garbage collection and littering are problems in Mount Pleasant.

Notable people

The following are notable people who have lived in Mount Pleasant: