Rector’s eNews 07: 26 February 2025

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I do hope that your boys will have enjoyed the brief respite of half term over the past weekend and that they have returned to school eager to take up where they left off.

At our Prize Giving on the eve of half term, we demonstrated that whilst we believe in a holistic education embracing sporting, cultural and other development, the academic thread is the golden one which runs through our programme and gives focus to every day and week. Our B to E Blocks of 2024 were the recipients of awards last Wednesday and, later in the year at Speech Day, the focus will be on the A Block boys as they prepare to matriculate and take leave of Michaelhouse.

Warm congratulations to the following boys who were in the top three in their year groups in 2024:

E Block:   1^st Leonardo Van de Dronker Derbynew

                 2^nd Connor McMurray

                 3^rd Campbell Freeman

 

 D Block:  1^st Connor Wilson

                 2^nd Griffon Erasmus

                 3^rd Oliver Thompson

 

C Block:  1^st Thomas Wayne

                 2^nd Graydon Leslie

                 3^rd Keegan Pattenden

 

B Block:  1^st Reily Elliot

                 2^nd Roelof Rossouw

                 3^rd Simon Bailes

 

Sir Henry Strakosch Internal Scholarship

The Sir Henry Strakosch Scholarship is held for one year and is awarded to the top boy in the Block with the best combined mark in Mathematics and Science in his previous year.  Based on their 2024 results, the scholarships were won by these boys:

B Block: Reily Elliot and Roelof Rossouw

C Block: Graydon Leslie and Thomas Wayne

John W Hamilton Internal Scholarship

The John W Hamilton Scholarship is held for one year and is awarded to the boy with the top aggregate in his Block who is not already the recipient of another academic scholarship.  Based on their 2024 results, the scholarships were won by the following:

B Block: Reily Elliot

C Block: Thomas Wayne

D Block: Griffon Erasmus

E Block: Campbell Freeman

 House Awards

Academic Achievement (Fleischer Shield): McCormick House

Academic Effort (Ralfe Cup): McCormick House

Community Partnership Shield (Service): McCormick House

We were delighted that our dux, Patrick Lambert, flew up from the Western Cape to be with us for the evening. In his final IEB matriculation examinations, Patrick got 97% for Mathematics, 95% for Further Studies Mathematics (Calculus & Algebra), 93% for Economics, 92% for Accounting, 90% for Life Orientation, 87% for FAL Afrikaans and 86% for English Home Language. Click here to view the full Prize Giving Programme.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Ryan Ravenscroft as our new Head of Sport to  replace Mr Ryan Strudwick who is emigrating in April. Ryan Ravenscroft won 64 caps for South Africa on the hockey pitch and captained the national team for two years, including taking charge of South Africa at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Among his many roles, he has experience of teaching and being Director of Hockey at a major UK hockey school, Whitgift. Thereafter, he was a successful Director of Sport at Jeppe High School for Boys and, more recently, Ryan was Deputy Head at Clifton Preparatory School in Durban. He is a person with a wealth of experience in leadership, strategic development, elite athlete nurture and has a philosophy of balancing competitive performance with encouraging participation by all.

Mr Mitchell Reed has been appointed to replace Mr Marius Henn as our Operations Manager. Mr Mitchell Reed is an old Kearsney boy and his strengths, inter alia, lie in Logistics, Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Management.

Ms Emsoné Fourie will be leaving us at the end of this term and we will bid her farewell soon, as she moves to be married to a farmer in the northernmost part of Limpopo. Mr Johan van Rooyen who recently retired from our Afrikaans Department and is well-known to the Michaelhouse boys and parents, will be teaching her classes until the arrival of her successor, Mr Wayne Sudding from Reddam, Constantia. Mr Sudding is an experienced Afrikaans teacher. He holds an Honours Degree from UCT as well as an HDE and has taught Afrikaans First Additional Language at Bishops in Cape Town and Kearsney, amongst other schools, and most recently at Reddam, Constantia. Wayne Sudding has coached rugby and cricket at a top schoolboy level as well as tennis.

We look forward to welcoming our new staff in due course.

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