FLIPPING BOOK CHRONICLE 2024

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

ADDRESS BY THE RECTOR, MR ANTONY CLARK

I

t gives me great pleasure to report to the AGM of the Old Boys’ Club this year at a time when the bond between the school and the Old Boys has never been stronger. The extent of support of our Old Boys for the school is evident at every turn, not only in your very considerable financial contributions to the well-being of the boys – evident in, for example, large individual donations towards the extension of the Chapel, which will shortly begin – but also in assisting our boys in other ways, for example, in the mentorship programme involving younger Old Boys and current matriculants. Nobody has been more active and nobody deserves more accolades for this than the President of the Old Boys’ Club, Sean Lumley, who has been instrumental in driving that association and building on the theme of a club for life: boys join Michaelhouse in the E Block and stay part of the school forever. At any evening spent at any Old Boys’ Club dinner or Chairman’s Club event, the passion of our Old Boys for Michaelhouse and the extent to which they are prepared to support and help in whatever way they can to advance the school is evident. I am most appreciative of support which prominent Old Boys have given to me in my capacity as Rector, too, over the past five and a bit years. It is heartening and inspiring to feel one is working in tandem with outstanding leaders in their own field for future generations. Michaelhouse is a strong school. Firstly, it is strong in enrolment. In 2019, our enrolment stood at 554 because, though Ralfe and McCormick were open they were not yet full by design, as we had only taken in the bottom three Blocks. Today enrolment stands at capacity at 636, with many boys sitting on the bench and ready to join us from the waiting lists. A full school means a school can be run with greater certainty in terms of meeting financial obligations, and we have been able to move Tatham to its wonderful new site this year, to accommodation more in keeping with a school of excellence. As you know, Pascoe is currently being upgraded and will be much brighter and much better laid out than before. This sort of refurbishment is necessary in any boarding school every 40 years or so, and we are fortunate to have been in a position to have started a process which will ultimately bring all our Houses up to world-class standards. One of the features of a Michaelhouse education is the holistic nature of it. Ideally every boy should be wrestling with issues presented by the spiritual underpinnings of Michaelhouse whilst, simultaneously, furthering his academic interests, his sporting and cultural aptitudes and taking action to be of service to those South Africans who are not as fortunate as he is. We need to protect this catholic approach to life at school in an era of increasing professionalism in sport, and not to be hijacked by those whose interests lie in the league tables of various sports. Theirs is a narrow approach that undermines the importance of balance in the lives of boys, especially

talented sportsmen, because if they don’t learn how to debate at school, or sing, or how to put up a tent in the reserve, then how well equipped for life will they be when they leave Michaelhouse? Striving for success is one thing, and it is certainly important, but not at the expense of the rounded education which has always been part of the Michaelhouse way and should continue to be so. Michaelhouse boys are fortunate to be able to go on to the best universities in South Africa and the world. At present, our boys readily gain access to Stellenbosch, UCT and the University of Pretoria as their preferred local destinations, as well as Exeter, Edinburgh and Durham universities in the UK, and UPenn as the Ivy League university of choice in the Unted States. They consistently shine at those universities, often gaining first-class degrees, and this serves to demonstrate that the Michaelhouse academic platform from which they are catapulted into university is a strong one. The boys are nurtured by a very able staff. Indeed, I cannot think that the staff of any school in South Africa could be stronger. Brendan Gittins, Deputy Rector: Pupils, and Sibusiso Ncamani, Deputy Rector: Pastoral, along with Win de Wet, Deputy Rector: Academic, are all key players on our executive committee, and the chaplain, Chris Meyer, is a rare find. Staff joining this year are impressive and contribute wholeheartedly. For example, Graeme Lucas-Bull has joined our Maths Department and coaches high-level rugby and water polo, Jason Syce teaches Economics and is the South African U18A hockey coach, while Nick Bérichon from Garsfontein is our new head coach of hockey and helps with our Outdoor Education programme. Conrad Bubb is the HoD Maths Literacy and coaches rugby and water polo, and Lucy Ivins teaches Divinity, LO and History on a part time basis. Before I go further I must commend our interns. We have some outstanding young men who are guiding our boys, and so many of them have a great future in education. Michaelhouse must not lose the stars amongst them. Our new head of Music, Gareth Dry, is a most accomplished choir master with international awards to his credit and he has injected energy into an already excellent Music Department. In sport, Khalipha Cele has done much to advance cricket as our new First XI coach and Master-in-Charge. James Fleming has put in place the strength-and-conditioning programme that the school has had over the past five years and, as a result of this, our boys are some 30% fitter than they were five years ago. This allowed us to have a very rewarding outing at Hilton recently in both rugby and hockey, with many of our teams returning victorious. We are working on aspects of water polo, basketball and soccer, but tennis and squash have seen our boys perform at an outstanding level. What great

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