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&*}, KEARSNEY COLLEGE CHRONICLE ' I ,'^MI' ' . ■■ »L4iSi :■■ t!j % July, 1965 i«LKj;p«tK«aaKr3tias»5f ft. At «ja;,.?>s t Kearsney College Chronicle JULY, 1965 Kearsney College Chronicle Vol. 6 No. 1 Juij^ 1965 EDITORIAL We are a very young school, even by South African standards. By comparison with the schools of England, we are only just hatched. But, quite humbly, we wonder whether any other Public or Private boarding school has grown and matured quite as quickly as we have. In a mere 44 years we have grown from 11, housed in a private mansion, to 460, with (as all will agree) buildings and grounds hardly surpassed in the country. In the 25 years at Botha's Hill we have increased by 350, and the original bleak and bare setting can now scarcely be visualised. There is no boasting in this. We are quite convinced that this school was needed, and that throughout its development the hand of Providence has been at work. The early private venture was not allowed to disintegrate, although at one stage faith and sacrifice was needed to save the school from dying. But it was willed that we should survive, and that our faith should be justified. So we see our young life now divided into three parts. There was the period of foundation, under the right Headmaster; a humble unambitious period m which stress was unostentatiously laid on those things which matter: tome, character, humility, tremendous loyalty from those who loved their school. When these foundations were well and truly laid, there followed the second stage, again under the right Headmaster: one of bricks and mortar, a physical develop ment, one which saw us grow and grow, in numbers and influence, until we could regard ourselves as a school which was making a real impact upon the wider community. That second stage is now over, expansion has ceased and, once more under the right Headmaster, we enter upon the third phase, one of consolidation and settling down: a phase stretching out into the unforeseeable future, in which we seek to implant the earlier characteristics into the later frame work. In this we are manifestly succeeding. Throughout all this advancement we pay tribute to the courage of the Board, and the quality and loyalty of the Staff. The exciting days are behind us, but the future is one of great interest and promise, as we seek to fulfil the ultimate plan which we feel sure has been ordained for us of God. SCHOOL NOTES School opened this year with 461 boys, including 35 day boys. We welcome the following to our Staff: Messrs. R. J. Crawford, I. Gibson, A. Thiselton, R. Hofmeyr, D. Bovey, J. de Beer, Mrs. Etheridge as Matron of Gillingham, Mrs. Biggar, as assitant House keeper, and to Mrs. Gibson in a part-time teaching capacity. We hope that all will be very happy in our midst. We were glad to have Mr. A. C. Moore with us while Mr. P. Metcalf was overseas, teach ing at Kingswood. Mr. Moore was married at Easter, and is now lecturing at a University in Australia. We also say farewell to Mrs. Hornby, who served as Matron in Gillingham for seven years. Unfortunately her health had recently been not too good, and with the large increase in the number of boys, she felt that the work was becoming too heavy for her. We wish to express our thanks for all she has done, and for the friend ship we have enjoyed. Her work in Gillingham was characterised by a most meticulous attention to detail, both in attending to the needs of the sick, and in organising the domestic life of the House. We wish her better health, and all happiness in the future. We congratulate the following: The Headmaster on being elected to the Council of Natal University. In this position he will be able to keep us well linked with University educational policies. We strongly support his con tention that our schools should fall into line with British policy: that the School Leaving Exam, be held at Standard IX, and that University candidates should thereafter specialise for two further years. D. M. Barnard and M. H. Fienberg, who broke all records at the end of 1964 by gaining seven A's each in the Matric.; and T. W. F. Smith, who gained five. Fienberg came top of the Province in the Matric. R. L. Paul, on being the first recipient of the Stanley Murphy Bursary of R200 per annum. Rev. Athol Jennings, our Chaplain, on captaining the Natal Cross-country Team, and establishing himself as still the best in the Province. The Cross-country team, which has won all its weekly inter-school runs, including the Zululand annual event against twelve schools (80 boys) and the mob race against 40 selected runners at Kearsney. M. E. Martin on being chosen as reserve for Natal Senior Team. Martin, Kirkwood and Rice, on being selected for the Natal Schools' Cross-country team. A. R. Crewe, on winning the First Prize, in competition with I u m *'■ ms ar"« V L-.£4 'H- ■5j^#W»-- W. The Late Philip Hind. all the Matric. students of the Durban area, for an essay, organised by the Durban Milk Association, entitled 'The Importance of Milk in Family Feeding'. This essay is reproduced in this magazine. C. G. Lee, on being selected to swim for Natal Schools. It has been good to have Mr. Oram back on the premises, taking some music for Mr. Harper, and teaching French to selected scho lars. His associations with Kearsney now stretch back for 41 years. Mr. Harper is in England, studying for his F.R.C.O. There has been excitement over the installation of the Language Laboratory, at a cost of several thousand Rand. We are the first school in the country to introduce this new and reputedly very effective method of teaching. A report on its functioning will be presented in a later magazine. In the Cross-country all-comers race in Eshowe, Martin came 1st, Kirkwood 2nd and Rice 5th, giving Kearsney a comfortable victory. Several boys gave instrumental recitals at the Afrikaans Con cert in Pinetown, on May 14th. Instruments included; piano (Karl- sen, Clegg, van Rooyen), clarinets (Clegg, Lee, Roberts), bassoon (Polovin), trumpets (Reece, Salm). The almost unprecedented drought played havoc with school grounds and gardens, for not only was there no rain, but there was also no water available for irrigation. For a period the boys had to wash in the swimming bath, and water for showers was severely rationed. We are hoping that our very tenuous water-supply may be rectified by our getting linked up with the Regional Water Supply. The 'flu epidemic towards the end of the 2nd term was the most widespread epidemic in the school's history. As many as 200 boys were in bed simultaneously, as well as many of the Staff. Sister and Matrons were very grateful for the help given by masters' wives, while the teaching staff had to cope as best they could. The fact that proper recovery from the 'flu was slow led to the cancellation of all rugger matches with D.H.S. and College, and the dropping, for the first time, of the Sixth Form Dance, at a point where prepara tions were at an advanced stage. It is to be sincerely hoped that there will be no repercussions, and that health will be fully restored over the holidays. We have been reminded that as we have, over the years, reported on new buildings, we have omitted to mention the new Sanatorium, which is the first building met, on approaching the school. It has been a great relief to Matrons of Houses to be able to send their invalids across, to be looked after under the capable hands of Sister Anderson. NEWS OF PAST STAFF Mr. R. H. Matterson, nearing the end of his 79th year, continues to participate actively in Church and S.O.E. work, plays bowls regularly, and is often to be found in the Common Room. Mr. S. G. Osier continues his work with the Education Advisory Board in Pretoria. Mr. G. M. Oram, though retired four years ago, is back at the School helping with the organ, choir and French. Mr. V. L. Clegg, Vice-Principal of St. Stithians, acted as Princi pal there for the first quarter of this year, at the same time continuing as Housemaster and teaching a full programme. He deserved his Easter break. Dr. L. D. S. Glass has been awarded his Ph.D. for a thesis on 'Sir Henry Loch and the Matabele War'. He is History Lecturer at Natal University. Mr. R. Rutherford-Smith continues to lecture in Psychology at Natal University, and takes an enthusiastic part in dramatic pro ductions. Mr. R. Quarmby is teaching music at the Training College, Cape Town, his pupils being all girls between 18 and 24 years of age. He is also completing the writing of a book on Astronomy, which has, incidentally, to be translated into Afrikaans. Mr. H. Thorpe is living at Botha's Hill and doing clerical work at the Valley Trust, run by Dr. H. H. Stott, Old Boy. He is married to Dr. Stott's daughter. Mr. D. Walker is travelling for Messrs. Cotton & Hardie (Pty.) Ltd., publishers' representatives. Cape Town, and recently spent a week at Kearsney, wishing he were back! Mr. J. Vincent is settled with his wife at the Hluhluwe Game Reserve, collecting data of various kinds for the Parks Board, and liking the life.