Dear Parents
It has been my privilege to be the Acting Headmaster of my Alma Mater for the last six weeks, and I offer a very sincere “Thank you” to the staff, parents, and boys for their support during what I think has been a happy and settled period for College.
Having enjoyed a well-deserved rest, which included his attendance at an Old Collegians’ gathering in London, Dr Luman will be returning at the start of the fourth term.
Important dates in the fourth term:
Tuesday, 10 October: Term 4 starts – Dedication Assembly
Thursday, 12 October: Sixth Form Old Boys’ Induction Ceremony
Thursday, 12 October: Sports and cultural photographs (all)
Friday, 13 October: Speech Day and Valedictory Service – (Special routine and compulsory attendance for 6th Form)
Friday, 27 October: Special Assembly: Passing of the Drum – (Confirmation of the 2024 prefects and the announcement of the senior prefects)
Friday, 27 October: Parents’ Annual General Meeting (2024 tuition and boarding fees)
Friday, 10 November: Remembrance Day Service at the First World War Memorial
Monday, 27 November: Start of the College Outreach Week (all boys in 2nd – 5th Form)
Wednesday, 29 November: College Christmas Carols
Friday, 1 December: Prize-giving for 2nd to 5th Form (compulsory attendance)
Term 4 closes for pupils in 2nd to 5th Form at the conclusion of Prize-giving
2023 Final Examinations:
National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations:
Monday, 30 October: NSC final examinations start.
Tuesday, 5 December: NSC final examinations end.
Please note: 6th Formers are expected to attend school as usual in the first week of term 4. Thereafter, the 6th Form teachers will be available to the boys during their usual 6th Form lessons in their classrooms for two weeks, while the boys await the start of the NSC examinations, and the boys are welcome to engage individually with their subject teachers, should they require academic assistance.
End-of-year examinations for 2nd to 5th Forms:
Monday, 30 October: End-of-year examinations start.
Thursday, 23 November: End-of-year examinations end.
Friday, 24 November: Mark checks
Friday, 8 December: School reports to be emailed to parents.
Please note: It is compulsory for boys to check their scripts on Friday, 24 November, as no mark changes will be made after this date.
Outreach Week
A perennial challenge for any high school – including Maritzburg College – is “What do we do with the boys after the exams, but before breakup day?”
Last year, we tried to keep the boys productively occupied, by preparing all the boys in Forms 2-5 for an examination held on the penultimate day of the academic year. On reflection, it was agreed that this was not the solution we had hoped that it would be.
For the end of 2023, we will be introducing an outreach programme over the last few days of the school year, at which all the boys in those Forms will take part in some or other community outreach, aimed at serving our broader community.
In this regard, we are very proud of the fact that our school is very much an “anchor tenant” in our beleaguered city – we as an executive committee have taken the view that, as one of the oldest and most established inhabitants of Pietermaritzburg, our school should take a more leading role in trying to fix some of the many problems that are all too apparent to its citizens.
We are currently looking at several options, and the final details of the initiative will be revealed in due course – but we will be most hoping for your support.
Term 3 school reports:
2nd to 5th Form reports will be emailed to parents at the end of term 3.
6th Form Trials reports will be emailed to parents’ early next term.
Textbook returns:
Please ensure that your son returns all his textbooks to his subject teacher on the mark check day, i.e. Friday, 24 November. Books are not to be dropped off anywhere other than being handed personally to your son’s subject teacher on that day. Books not returned in this manner, and returned after this deadline, will be charged to your account. Please impress on your sons the importance of this instruction.
Co-curricular commitments:
Fixtures are indicated in the term calendar. This is a firm reminder that all boys are expected to follow through with their full sport and cultural commitments until the end of the season or term. Sports and cultural practice times will be amended during the exam period, to try and accommodate the finishing times of exams and the logistics for parents and staff.
Parents’ Annual General Meeting – Friday, 27 October at 14:00 in the Victoria Hall:
The SA Schools Act requires that parents be invited to attend a meeting to discuss and vote on the proposed 2024 budget. This legislation requires that parents be informed of the basis for the preparation of the budget, the proposed school and boarding establishment fees for the next year and the equitable criteria and procedures for the total, partial or conditional exemption of parents who are unable to pay school fees. A formal notice has been sent to all parents on 26 September 2023, and the budget is available for viewing from 10 October 2023.
Speech Day and Valedictory Ceremony – Friday, 13 October at 11:00 in the Alan Paton Memorial Hall:
This is the final farewell to our 6th Form boys, and attendance at this event is compulsory for all boys (Forms 2-6). All 6th Form parents/guardians have been emailed an invitation to attend this ceremony. A light lunch for 6th Formers and their parents will be served at the conclusion of this function.
Prize-giving – Friday, 1 December at 10:00 in the Alan Paton Memorial Hall:
This function celebrates the academic success of boys in 2nd to 5th Form. Attendance for those boys is compulsory and full school uniform is to be worn. Parents are invited to attend.
Admissions 2024:
If your son will not be returning to Maritzburg College in 2024, we would like to remind you that you need to give a term’s notice, failing which you will be liable for a term’s fees in lieu of notice. The correct procedure is to notify Mrs R Ramdeen in the admissions department on admissions@mcollege.co.za. In turn, she will inform the relevant staff members.
Grooming:
Please ensure that your son returns to school at the start of the new term clean shaven and with his hair cut. Boys who fail the hair and shaving inspection that will take place on the first day (and, where they have slipped through that test, in the days that follow), will not only have to immediately take care of the issue but will receive an immediate Friday detention. 6th Form boys writing the NSC examinations are reminded that they are wearing their school uniform, and as a result are expected to abide by the school regulations in terms of hair, dress and shaving. There will be a hair inspection in the BE on Monday night when the boys return. If a boarder’s hair is not to standard he will be punished, it will be cut by a duty master on the night and his sundries account will be charged.
Dress:
In a similar vein, we have been very disappointed at the number of boys who do not wear the appropriate school uniform at all times. Boys who do not subscribe to the dress code must expect to be punished. In this regard –
- A dayboy walking to and from school is required to wear an appropriate basher at all times.
- Boys who wear full school uniform to school are required to wear a blazer – they may not arrive at school or leave from school without a blazer. A school jersey does not suffice.
- Boys are to wear the appropriate tie. Boys who wear a tie for the inappropriate Form/s are in breach of the dress code.
- The “stove-piping” of grey longs is not allowed, but has infiltrated the dress code for especially senior boys for some years.
General discipline:
There were occasions in the third term when we, as a staff, felt especially let down by the misbehaviour of a small minority of College boys – a phenomenon that is not uncommon at this time of the year. We will continue to manage and cajole the College boys in the 4th term, and will be on the look-out for boys who do not subscribe to the College “Code” of behaviour, including our “College Culture” (as displayed on the website) and our Core Values. Once again, ladies and gentlemen – we sincerely ask for your support, as we continue to ensure that the high standards set at College over 160 years are continually reinforced.
Cases of theft:
We are aware of the frustration and anger amongst parents, arising from the incidents of petty theft committed by some boys, and I’d like to thank the parents who responded to our recent survey. Some excellent suggestions were offered – and I have (i) in the last 10 days already met with our CCTV service providers and (ii) prepared an amendment to the Code of Conduct that will allow for a more immediate and more forceful response, where a boy is found guilty of theft. The matter is receiving our priority attention – dishonesty and theft are anathema to what our school stands for.
School fees:
I again appeal to all parents to pay their son’s school fees, to enable us to continue to supply an uncompromised educational service to your sons. Please make the school account a priority.
In closure, I wish you and your families a restful, enjoyable and sunny Michaelmas holiday, as we as a school gird our collective loins for the final “big push” required in the final term.
Pro Aris et Focis
MM MARWICK
Acting Headmaster