The 2025 Chronicle

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES AND DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES Next year, the department will continue to broaden the boys’ horizons. One important event will be the 19th Annual Road show in February 2026. This “Original Legendary Higher Edu cation Expo” will bring more than 25 international universities and business schools to the Makan Centre to give the boys a gateway to explore academic pathways in the UK, the US, Aus

tralia and elsewhere. With the support of strategic partners like the British Council and Qatar Airways, the boys will receive practical advice on how to succeed on a global stage. Finally, we bade a fond farewell to Mr Luyanda Zondi in 2025. We thank him for his valuable contributions and the support he has provided to the Life Orientation Department. His efforts helped ensure our boys remain resilient and socially conscious individu als, ready to navigate the challenges of the future with purpose.

ECONOMICS

Head of Department: Ms Riette White Staff: Mr Michael Sevenoaks, Mr Lwando Saunders, Mr Jason Syce, Mrs Win De Wet, Mr Brendan Gittins Interns: Mr Bruere Venter, Mr Lwandiswa Zuma,

Hot on his heels were Luke Kaufmann and Luke Payne, both with 94%. Other noteworthy performances were Dylan No ach and Dylan Hewlett, achieving 92%. Out of 100 A Block Economics candidates, 89% achieved 60% or above. The Mi chaelhouse Economics average was 12% above the IEB na tional average. This showcased our continued commitment to excellence as well as our focus on ensuring our less academi cally orientated pupils are well supported. We thank Mr Lwan do Saunders, Mr Michael Sevenoaks, Mrs Win de Wet and Ms Riette White for preparing our matric boys so thoroughly for their final examination. It is of interest to note that out of the 767 candidates in South Africa, Michaelhouse made up 13% of the IEB Economics numbers in 2024, maintaining our status as the largest IEB Economics department in the country. We would also like to thank Ms Riette White, Mr Lwando Saunders and Mr Michael Sevenaoks for committing to mark matric IEB Economics ex aminations at the end of 2024, as this experience brings valu able insights back to our teaching and the development of our subject at Michaelhouse. The enthusiasm for Economics remains high at Michaelhouse. Given the volatile geopolitical landscape we live in, there is an eagerness and keen interest from our boys to understand the implications of this and engage in what the future may hold. In 2025 the Economics Department’s motto was “intentional integration”: we focused on ensuring we weave local and global circumstances into our syllabus content, as well as upgrading and developing the tasks we give the boys in order to bolster their broader grasp of the theoretical content they are learning. Alongside this, we continue to provide our boys with opportu nities for extension through guest speakers, outings and com petitions, which assist them in developing their thinking and understanding of economics and the world. We are grateful to the Michaelhouse alumni for their willingness to engage with and support our boys in this regard. Our E Block Economics syllabus was completely redesigned by Mr Bruere Venter, along with guidance from Ms Riette White. The content now covers matters such as the national budget speech, standard-of-living analyses and comparisons between South Africa and other economies. To this end, the E Blockers each created their own Top Trumps card of an economy they were assigned to study. Once all were submitted, we were able to create a Top Trumps pack of economies and the boys could play against each other – whilst learning about a large variety of global economies. Additionally, Mr Hayden Hankinson up dated and standardised the E Block Accounting syllabus, along

Mr James Kiln, Mr Hayden Hankinson, Mr Mvelase Mbambisa, Mr Che Charles

The year started on a positive note with the release of our final matric results for 2024. We achieved a distinction rate of over 44%. Patrick Lambert was our top achiever, obtaining an incredible 95%.

Kitsy the Econo-cat

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