WATCH | War cry battles: St Stithians Boys, Jeppe Girls, and Redhill win 5FM's challenge | News24 (2025)

• St Stithians Boys' College, Jeppe High School for Girls, and Redhill School claimed R20 000 as winners of the 5FM War Cry competition.
• The War Cry Initiative elevated South African chants into a nationwide challenge, spotlighting high school talent across nine provinces.
• Some of the winners plan to reinvest their prize money into the communities that supported them.

South African schools have long been celebrated for their electrifying war cries, a spirited cultural legacy that echoes nationwide across sports fields and school grounds.

Through its War Cry Initiative, this powerful cultural expression has been propelled into 5FM's nationwide competition that recognises and celebrates talent among high schools.

Nine provinces, hundreds of submissions, and a prize of R20 000 up for grabs—three Gauteng schools emerged victorious as the winners of the 2025 5FM War Cry competition: St Stithians Boys' College, Jeppe High School for Girls and Redhill School.

The joyous celebration unfolded in the SABC Radio Park foyer, with the air buzzing with the sounds of saxophones, jubilant singing, and thunderous war cries as the winners marked their achievements.

The schools were invited to 5FM's offices to receive their R20 000 prize money, courtesy of Standard Bank, while sharing a breakfast.

Chad Bacher, president of the Redhill School Spirit Team, said the win meant a lot to them.

"I can remember when we were planning this idea of the war cry—we were just in class, and it was so electrifying, even from then. This was the end goal. It's so exciting to have been on this journey with 5FM, Standard Bank, and our Redhill community, so it feels so good to be seen," he said.

He spoke about the dedication to building the Redhill spirit team's legacy.

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"We have put in work—it's all about building our legacy as Redhill Spirit because we are one of the smaller schools that entered. But we have the heart and spirit that carried us through."

While undecided on utilising the prize money, Chad said it was likely to be invested back into the community that supported them.

Similarly, Kadijah Bah from Jeppe Girls shared their plans to give back to their school community.

"Because we are a government school, we hope to use the money to help the girls who can't go on school trips and sports tours. We also want to invest in building a proper guard hut for our guards because it's currently small," she said.

Winning brought immense pride to the all-girls school.

"Being here is so amazing. Winning a war cry competition as an all-girls school feels so good because there's this misconception that girls can't be loud. The fact that we made it so far feels incredible," Bah added.

The head of spirits from St Stithians Boys College, John-Paul Suzi-Banda, echoed those sentiments.

"We put four hours a week into practising and ensuring that we put together a strong submission. It feels good to win because we worked hard," he said.

He reflected on their contributions and added, "We're happy to have participated in this competition, and it's fulfilling to know our war cry was so well received."

Nick Hamman, host of 5 Breakfast on 5FM, applauded the significance and growth of this annual event.

"We received countless entries—I honestly can't remember how many. At the initial stages of the competition, we intentionally made it easy for schools to submit. From every corner of South Africa, high schools sent entries of all kinds. We spent countless nights watching, downloading, and listening," he said.

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Hamman emphasised the global admiration for South African war cries, particularly among the youth.

"Globally, South Africans, especially young ones, are applauded for their war cries. As 5FM, the voice of the youth, we knew we had a responsibility to elevate these young voices."

He also highlighted the competition's rise in visibility, with last year's submissions attracting praise from celebrities like A$AP Ferg and Sharon Stone and coverage from major sports networks worldwide.

The 2025 edition of the competition featured an inclusive judging process that considered co-ed, boys-only, and girls-only schools equally.

Hamman reflected on a pivotal moment from the previous year: "A girls' school won last year, which was amazing because, historically, people assume boys' schools are better at war cries. Yet, the girls' entry from St Stithians College outshone them all."

This year, the boys from St Stithians reclaimed the spotlight with another stellar performance.

Hamman highlighted the integrity behind the evaluations: "There's an internal rubric shared among stakeholders within 5FM and Standard Bank. We look closely at social media engagement, listener metrics, and public feedback. Ultimately, a panel of people, informed by the public, makes the final decision."