Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, young Collegians, and Borvers.
Welcome back to school and I hope that you all have a successful year. A special welcome goes to those “lowly fellows” seated over there, the Borvers. Gentlemen, we look forward to welcoming you all into the proud ranks of COLLEGIANS on Monday morning. As they say in the classics, “Hang in there”.
For you all, I hope that 2023 is a year of inspiration – that you learn, grow and develop, surrounded by the red bricks of College. I hope it is a year of hard work – that you work diligently, fulfil your potential and reach your aspirations.
And I hope that it is a year of success – not just in terms of results, but of lessons learnt, of challenges overcome, and of an ever-growing sense of responsibility and purpose. Let us make 2023 less about words and more about deeds and actions – but always the right deeds and actions, as we strive to live out our Core Values and to “do the right thing”.
Discipline and conduct
You need to be aware, gentlemen, that at the end of last year your parents changed the school’s code of conduct, to ensure that the school can more efficiently deal with those amongst you who fail to live up to the expectations of a Maritzburg College boy.
The underlying principle is that it is a privilege be a member of the great Maritzburg College tribe and to be part of this great brotherhood that Mr Clayton spoke / often speaks of.
At this school, we live by a code of values, based on our own Core Values, and if you choose to break our codes and our rules, and to not follow our values, you need to go somewhere else.
- That includes your appearance and dress, including your hairstyles and your uniform – from jewellry to beards to the condition of your long pants.
- That includes absenteeism and truancy and bunking lessons, as well as missing tests and cheating.
- That includes using drugs – from vapes to cigarettes to liquor.
- That also includes casually pulling out your ‘phone at the wrong time, repeatedly not doing your work, and disrespecting the school’s privilege system.
Gentlemen, the COVID lockdown ended over nearly 18 months ago. We can’t use it as an excuse anymore.
After all, this is Maritzburg College – the oldest and proudest boys’ school in KZN. So let’s act like we’re worthy of the place – from today.
The school’s privileges and traditions.
In many cases, these are established and ingrained. They are regarded by some people as the great “foundation” of being a College boy. But – and I am talking to the older boys now – we have to acknowledge that we have witnessed serious problems, including some that have led to abuse. We have to acknowledge that the morale of our school in 2022 was forever changed by the actions of a handful of senior boys exactly one year ago. Only two months before that, in late 2021, we had a separate, serious case of assault in Clark House. Both those incidents confirmed that we had a real problem and that, despite what some of you might think, there were quite frankly rotten aspects to what I know many of you regard as holy and sacrosanct.
We are not a school of abuse, and we do not and cannot ever tolerate such behaviour – which in some cases was simply against the law. Last year, in consultation with you boys, Mr Sparrow started a process of looking at these privileges and traditions, to ensure that they reflect the very best of this school’s proud, traditional ethos.
Some changes have been made, to ensure that they tie in with the culture of our school, our DNA, and “What it means to be a College boy”. These changes have the full support of Mr Clayton and the senior men amongst our Old Boys’ Association. They saw what was going on last year and in recent years gone by, and they have fully agreed that some changes were needed. The privileges have been condensed onto one sheet of paper – which will be shared with you over the next couple of days.
Gentlemen, we will always remain proud of our heritage – but we look to the future, too, and we will be counting on your good sense, maturity and loyalty to your school, to ensure that this is a smooth, successful and happy journey for us all.
College’s 160th birthday
This year College celebrates 160 years – the oldest and surely the proudest boys’ school in KZN.
Watch a video introducing this special milestone here
Many different activities and events will take place throughout the year. Let’s support them and embrace them, and let’s show everyone from [wave hand] those other, younger whippersnapper schools, how the senior boy’s school in our province does things.
Matthew M Marwick
Senior Deputy Headmaster