The 2025 Chronicle

to our department.

Another enrichment opportunity comes in the form of the En glish Olympiad. Twelve boys wrote the Olympiad, with Shail Raj kumar, Daniel French and Mulisa Phungo being our noteworthy participants, each earning a silver for their efforts. This is a demanding self-study programme culminating in an open-book examination at the beginning of March. The A Block set works are dictated to us by the IEB. This was the second year of the Shakespearean tragedy Othello – an intrigu ing play of love, jealousy and betrayal. The A Block travelled to Hilton College to watch the play, reinforcing their understanding of the plot and their appreciation of the intricate relationships. There was a change in novel choices this year between Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and The White Tiger by Aravind Adi ga, with all six teachers opting for the latter. This contemporary novel is a compelling story set in India that weaves together themes of power, oppression, corruption, freedom and inequal ity; the boys engaged with the text, drawing parallels to the so ciety we live in. We continued with A Block tutorial lessons for masterclasses, which allowed the boys to experience different teaching styles and be extended in unpacking literature to a deeper level. This idea – to stretch the boys – fostered mean ingful discussions and analysis, and helped us achieve our de partment aim of helping each boy to think critically. Our C Block module choice continues, allowing the D Block boys to choose what they study in C Block. The modules are: “Worlds Apart” (featuring All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and the film 1917), “Murder Mystery” (Lightseekers by Femi Kayode and Murder on the Orient Ex press) or “Sport is Life” (Flat Water Tuesday by Ron Irwin and the film Beyond the River). These personalized modules, in corporating novels, films and poetry, reinforce the notion that academic performance often improves when students have some autonomy in shaping their studies. The E Block syllabus was revamped slightly, with the goal of get ting the boys to tell their stories through studying autobiograph ical writing and then writing their own personal histories. The E Block often have much to navigate during the first year of their Michaelhouse odysseys, and we allowed English to be a space for them to become more self-aware – while also starting their academic journeys – as they composed and constructed their autobiographies in a year-long passion project. The English Department strives to instil a love for reading while guiding our boys to write, and to speak, correctly, accurately, logically and with sophistication. We also use impactful litera ture that provides insight into the human condition while we do so, such as our new B Block novel, The Kite Runner. At the end of my first year as head of department, it has been pleasing to see our department develop and our classrooms remain places of solace, energy and engagement.

2025 was my first year at the helm, but the change in leader ship was seamless, with Mrs Tanith von Mayer’s promotion to Senior Academic still meaning she taught two senior classes. We bade farewell to Mrs Mary McMichael after 23 years’ ser vice – she is a truly all-round educator, and we will miss her candour and expertise. Within the department we opened up a space for personal writing, and Mary was the first to volunteer her meaningful poems. (Please see below.) An experienced staff remains crucial in producing outstand ing results, and I am proud of the environment we have con tinued building; an environment based on support and a commitment to small successes in the classroom every day. The English Department is a happy, yet driven space, where the teachers are always finding ways to extend our boys and themselves. We are justifiably extremely proud of our A Block results.

COMPARISON OF THE 2024 IEB ENGLISH EXAMINATIONS YEAR NO. AVE. A B C D E

% A, B, C

125 72% 118 70% 116 68% 110 74%

29 47 42 7 15 51 44 4 15 31 60 8 29 46 30 5

0 0 2 0

94% 93% 91% 96%

2024 2023 2022 2021

Luke Kaufmann, Lucien Bauldry and Damian Watson and Kian Moses (joint third) were the top Michaelhouse achievers with 93%, 89% and 87%, respectively. Luke’s results placed him in the top 1% in South Africa for the subject. English Home Lan guage continues to be, statistically, one of the most difficult subjects in which to get an A, but a department aim – to con vert more Bs into As, and Cs into Bs – continues to bear fruit. Further Studies English is recommended as an optional extra to boys with a passion for English, especially literature. The IEB syllabus offers them a chance to grapple with complex poetry, prose and drama/film, facilitating a nuanced response to liter ature within a comprehensive context.

COMPARISON OF THE 2024 RESULTS YEAR NO. AVE. A B C D E

% A, B, C

9 5 7 7

63% 74% 72% 71%

1 1 1 1

4 3 3 3

3 1 3 3

1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

89%

2024 2023 2022 2021

100% 100% 100%

POEMS BY MRS MARY MCMICHAEL

‘I believe and trust in God the Father who made the world…’

Luke Kaufmann also topped the ranks in Further Studies En glish with an impressive 84% and, while we are proud of all boys who accept the challenge of Further Studies English, the following boys are worthy of a special mention: Lucien Bauldry (78%) and Seth Segal (76%). The staff and boys use the few time-tabled lessons to good effect and the growth of this sub ject continues, especially in our B Block class, which consisted of more than 20 boys.

Hunched forward in prayerful obedience, I intone the memorised words, while Michael’s sceptre, cast in stone, above me plunges through the dragon’s mouth

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