FLIPPING BOOK CHRONICLE 2024

PRIZE-GIVING

ADDRESS BY THE RECTOR, MR ANTONY CLARK

14 FEBRUARY 2024

boys schools. The boys averaged two As per individual and the average mark across all subjects was 72%, as opposed to 71% in the previous year. Special congratulations go to the winners of our dux award. The award is shared for the first time in living memory between David du Toit and Kofi Asumaning, who both achieved an aggregate of 91.4% and nine distinctions. Kofi achieved 99% for Mathematics and 96% for Music, while David’s particular strength lay in Mathematics and Information Technology. They were both pursued by the proxime accessit , Thomas Lahaye, who achieved an aggregate of 87.6% and seven distinctions, and Andrew Woodland with an aggregate of 87.1% and, similarly, seven distinctions. But one of the most outstanding features of last year’s results was the increase in the average overall percentage of each boy per subject from the end of C Block to the final examinations. There was no less than a 6% improvement on average across each boy and each subject, and this is indicative of a healthy academic climate at Michaelhouse and very much in line with our aspiration that each boy should fulfil his potential to the maximum possible extent. On an occasion such as this, there is everything to gain by reflecting on how those boys managed to do as well as they did and how they managed to increase their results across the board from the C Block to the A Block. I realise that I have used this matrix before, but there is nothing wrong with yet again talking to the qualities that are needed to excel. Firstly, ambition is important. Without the desire to be successful you are not going to succeed. A clear goal is needed; perhaps you are keen to go to a particular university in South Africa, such as Stellenbosch, or to a university in the UK or the USA. Whatever your end goal may be, that end goal must be articulated if you are to succeed. Secondly, academic curiosity is critical if you are to succeed. This means not just taking what you are taught at face value, but going deeper into further areas of study, researching them and understanding the nuance of situations. Asking the question "why?" is all-important. Thirdly, you require determination to succeed. I have in mind here the fact that material covered in class needs to be revisited in prep; it requires the consolidation of material, thinking through what has been transacted in class and trying to be one step ahead of the game in preparation for the days or weeks ahead. It requires sticking to the task when the going gets tough. Fourthly, to be an independent learner is important. This entails not just following the crowd but considering things from different angles and really engaging in a process of evaluating what you have learnt, reading further and deeper, and challenging established views on any academic topic. 16

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ood afternoon to you all, parents, boys and staff, on the occasion of our annual Prize-Giving. Today I extend a special welcome to Mrs Florie Hawkins, the mother of our Senior Prefect, as she has kindly agreed to be our guest of honour and to award the prizes today. Mrs Hawkins, thank you for giving of your time to come all the way from Bloemfontein to grace Michaelhouse today. We are particularly grateful for your presence as it is Valentine’s Day and you could be with your husband tonight having a candle-lit dinner for two instead of being here this afternoon. But we hope that you will be at Michaelhouse often during the course of this year, and especially during the rugby season to see Carlyle lead our team on to the field. As everyone knows, one of the chief purposes of this afternoon is to encourage and reward those who excelled academically in 2023, in the B to E Blocks, but it is also to reward and encourage those who have worked with the greatest diligence and given of their very best in the classroom. And we also reward those who have shown the most improvement. In rewarding those who have been extremely conscientious, and those who have improved dramatically we restate our intention, which is to develop each boy to the maximum of his potential. And, as I look back over the years, it is plain to me that there is a different rate of academic development for each teenager and, thus, each Michaelhouse boy. A number of you boys will only peak academically in your university years when you begin to find your niche and develop in your enjoyment of a narrower area of study. Others peak in their school years as their academic talent is more general and they are able to excel across the board. And what is ultimately of importance to you boys is that, at each stage of your life, you should aim to “be the best that you can be”, the best version of yourself, not only academically but in every sphere of your life. At Michaelhouse we believe emphatically in a holistic education: we believe in the importance of sport, music, drama and cultural activities, but it is the academic thread which is the golden one and gives a principal focus and purpose to each day, week and term. And you should know that, as teachers, we delight in experiencing those eureka moments, where boys suddenly see the light in a particular subject and make rapid progress; we delight in situations where knowledge deepens and the quest to study further and in a focused way becomes part of the make-up of an individual. It is magical when teachers and pupils are working in concert to maximise the potential of the student, and when the ambition and hard work of the student start to bear fruit. Looking back on 2023, our matriculation class should generally feel very pleased with their IEB results. It was not a vintage year, perhaps, but Michaelhouse maintained a 100% pass rate, and 100% of our boys achieved a Bachelor’s degree pass, which was not the case in the majority of our competitor