MICHAELHOUSE IMPACT REPORT 2025 FINAL

There has been much to celebrate in our Michaelhouse community recently. The re-dedication of the extended Chapel which can accommodate all 640 boys and, simultaneously, academic, administrative and operational staff was testimony to the importance attached to ensuring that we preserve the soul of Michaelhouse as well as to the generosity of our donors: the Inglis family, along with the Bruins, Jonsson, Ralfe, Sacco and Thorrington Smith families as well as an anonymous benefactor. Such generosity has been typical of Michaelhouse over the years: where a significant need has arisen, those who love our school have stepped forward. Our full enrolment and the existence of waiting lists at every level has enabled effective planning regarding the development of our boarding Houses: over the past couple of years, the new Tatham has been opened with the Housemaster’s residence alongside it and Farfield has been remodelled and modernised. West, East and Founders remain on the list of boarding Houses which require an upgrade in order to ensure that we have world class facilities across our boarding to match those in the academic sphere where many opportunities exist for boys in, for example, the Science laboratories or in the modernised Makan Centre. The boys are more active than ever; often rising early for a pre-breakfast training session, they engage fully with lessons and academic pursuits as well as pre-season and in-season sport. They are strongly encouraged to participate widely in cultural activities such as School plays and in the Chapel and Chamber Choirs, the Orchestra, the Jazz Band or Marimbas, Debating and Public Speaking as well as in Clubs and Societies such as the Investor’s Society or in the Fly-Fishing Club. It is also important for boys to appreciate that there is a responsibility concomitant with the privilege of coming to Michaelhouse and, thus, the need to respond to what they see around them in South Africa, particularly in the sixteen footprint schools which fall under the aegis of

the Community Partnership Trust and the school. Each House, therefore, consults with those schools and takes on projects within them, ranging from painting classrooms to supporting children in their academic or sporting endeavours. Thus, practically every day, a group of boys is transported to help improve the lives of other young people. This is important in the Michaelhouse of 2025. With sharply rising costs and, thus, fees there has been a significant increase in requests from parents for financial aid to enable them to keep their sons at Michaelhouse or to send them here. These are very carefully reviewed by a committee comprising Board Members, the Rector and the Financial Director and our drawdowns from the Michaelhouse Bursary Endowment Trust (MBET) naturally depend on the performance of our investments. We also have over 25 boys at Michaelhouse who have been given a life-altering opportunity by individual donors, the UK Trust, the US group of Old Boys, Absa Bank and others. It is important to us that boys who embody the spirit of Michaelhouse and can add value to us are able to attend this wonderful school and, therefore, a key project for us is to grow the resource of the MBET over time, to R1.2billion by 2046, the year which will mark our 150th anniversary. We thank all those who have contributed to the development of Michaelhouse over the years and we thank those who may have the capacity to support our endeavours in the future and elect to do so.

Antony Clark Rector

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