Rector’s eNews 26: 19 August 2026

There was a considerable amount of coughing and spluttering in Chapel on Sunday evening which suggests that it is time for a bit of a pause in the busy school programme. Half Term has come at a good time. The A Block boys have made a good start to their trial exams and have the long weekend to consolidate before returning to the exam room next week. For the rest of the school, it is hopefully an opportunity to catch up on sleep and to have a break from the school routine.

After having been allowed the time to get used to the school routine in the first three weeks, I have had more outward facing opportunities in the last week and a half. Two Parent Information Evenings in the Midlands and a very successful Golf Day at Gowrie have enabled me the opportunity to meet a wider audience of Michaelhouse parents and supporters. I have very much appreciated the warmth of the welcome I have received at each of these events. This weekend I will be travelling up to Johannesburg for the Old Boys’ dinner, and I look forward to extending my engagement with our wider school community there.

On Monday, when I addressed the school in assembly, I briefly reflected on my first month as Rector of Michaelhouse. I have a deep appreciation of what a privilege it is to live and work here, and I suggested that this is something I assume the staff and boys feel as well.

There are two ways in which we might understand privilege. The first is as advantage. As Rector I have significant advantages over many other headmasters. Similarly, Michaelhouse boys enjoy opportunities unavailable to many other young people, not only in South Africa but around the world. They live and learn in magnificent surroundings, supported by talented and committed staff, within a school whose traditions inform its values and purpose, and with the resources to pursue an extraordinary range of interests and ambitions. That is not something for which we need to apologise, but it is something of which we should remain conscious.

The second meaning of privilege is that of honour. It is a rare honour to serve as Rector, just as it is an honour for staff to work here and, I hope, for boys to belong to this community. Membership of Michaelhouse is something valuable that has been entrusted to each of us; it should shape both our bearing and our conduct.
The important question, therefore, is how we respond to that privilege. For me, the starting point is gratitude. Genuine gratitude is more than simply feeling fortunate: it should motivate us to make the most of what we have been given and ensure that we neither waste it nor take it for granted.

I challenged the boys to consider whether they always recognise their good fortune and whether that recognition is evident in how they approach each day. Privilege should never give way to entitlement, nor opportunity become indulgence. Unless a Michaelhouse education inspires boys to use their gifts and opportunities well, and ultimately to make a meaningful contribution to society, then its deeper purpose has not been fulfilled.

Our responsibility, as adults, is to help boys understand that privilege is not simply something to be enjoyed. It is something to which they must respond – with gratitude, humility, purpose and a determination to serve others.

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