Maritzburg College’s annual ceremony, the Passing of the Drum, sees the formal handing over of leadership from the outgoing senior year to the incoming team. Today, Friday 18 October 2024 was the 13th time this treasured ceremony, first introduced in 2012, took place, marking the change in pupil leadership, which include our head and deputy head prefects, prefects, shouting captains, and house leaders.
To be appointed as a College Prefect is one of the highest honours that the school can bestow upon a pupil, and along with this honour, comes accountability and responsibility. These boys have endured a rigorous process to achieve this honour and they would not have been appointed without the wider College’s pupil and staff support. College appoints four senior prefects to lead this team; and we extend sincere congratulations to our Head Prefect for 2025, Amahle Hadebe, our Senior Deputy Head Prefect, Cyril Cherayi, and our Deputy Head Prefects; Ewald Bester and Justin Steyn.
College’s Shouting Captains fulfil a unique role at the school, with its emphasis on spirit and camaraderie. Voted for by their peers, each year it is their job to inspire and cajole the troops on Basher Ridge, on Pape’s and elsewhere, to get behind our College men. Congratulations to the shouting captains for 2025; Nathan Koller, Siyabulela Mazibuko and Mazithi Qasha.
Today we named our house leaders, house captains and vice captains for the 10 day houses – our “homes within a home” at College. These young men are given various portfolios and assist the housemaster and staff in running the houses on a daily basis.
The five Border prefects who lead each of the boarding houses at College provide support to the boarder masters and boarder staff necessary for what is the largest Public School boarding establishment in the country, with its own particular culture and traditions. It is their job to ensure a happy, efficient, and disciplined home for our 470 boarders. Today, we congratulate Justin Steyn (Senior Boarder Prefect and Head of Shepstone House), Matthew Borchers (Head of Nathan House), Cyril Cherayi (Head of Hudson House), Ewald Bester (Head of Clark House) and Esihle Dlamini (Head of Elliott House).
The culmination and highlight of the ceremony is the Passing of the Drum from our outgoing Head Prefect to the new incumbent, symbolising the passing of authority from the outgoing leadership of 2024 to the incoming leaders of 2025. For many years it is the tradition that an outgoing College head prefect places a written message of support to his successor in the old drum. While this long-established tradition continues, the original old Thrash Drum that was used is now housed in a permanent case on display in the Victoria Hall, and a side-drum from the old school cadet band is used to symbolise the passing of authority from the prefects of 2024 to the prefects of 2025. At the 2024 ceremony, outgoing Head Prefect Codi Robinson placed a personal message of support in the old drum, and handed the custodianship of the drum to Amahle Hadebe, the 2025 Head Prefect, as a symbol of the passing of this authority.
We wish all our leaders well for 2025 and as a school, place our support, our trust and our confidence in you as we move into the new year.
College’s Leadership Team for 2025
Senior Prefects
Head Prefect: AB Hadebe
Senior Deputy Head Prefect: CM Cherayi
Deputy Head Prefects: E Bester, JC Steyn
Prefects
GA Askew Merchiston
E Bester Baillie Park Primary
A Bhengu Piet Retief Primary
MR Borchers Izotsha Primary
CM Cherayi Petra Primary
DJ Cruickshank Highbury
MW Gwala Howick Primary
AB Hadebe Lynford
ET Hamadziripi Scottsville
VJ Kasambala Winston Park Primary
LG Khumalo Gert Maritz
NP Koller Cordwalles
N Mkize DPHS
D Nadasan Scottsville
D Naidoo Worcester Primary
OM Nala Egerton
NRK Pembridge Merchiston
BI Pepu Scottsville
MS Qasha St Patrick’s College
L Shangase Prestbury
S Sithembu Kokstad Junior
JC Steyn King Edward
JJ Thackwray Glenwood
AC Tilbury Laddsworth
Boarding Houses
Senior Boarder Prefect and Head of Shepstone House: JC Steyn
The Head of House of Nathan House: MR Borchers
The Head of House of Clark House: E Bester
The Head of House of Hudson House: CM Cherayi
The Head of House of Elliott House: EUA Dlamini
Boarder Prefects
CM Mundell (Clark House), JO Odell (Hudson House), PA Louwrens (Hudson House), AB Barnes (Shepstone House) and R Boshoff (Shepstone House)
Shouting Captains
NP Koller, S Mazibuko and MS Qasha.
House Captains (C), House Vice-captains (VC) and House Leaders
for the 10 school Day houses:
Barns
JJ Thackwray (C), LN Bhengu (VC), RM Armoed, LN Bhengu, JM Currie, TM Foster, CM Mundell, CJ Sukraj
Calder
C Zondi (C), E Bester(VC), AB Barnes, AM Khumalo, TS Pillay, JL Tilbury, R Venter, C Zondi
Commons
MR Borchers (C), ST Danisa (VC), ST Danisa, MJ Kauffmann, L Luthuli, JD Moneyvalu, SM Redlinghuys, R Van Der Merwe
Forder
R Boshoff (C), GA Askew (VC), R Boshoff, BJ Botha, Z Nkosi, O Ntombela, C Siyongwana
Fuller
L Shangase (C), CTB Gould (VC), LJ Baptista, A Beni, JL Combrink, CTB Gould, HC Modi, RM Van der Vliet
Lamond
EJ McAllister (C), VJ Kasambala (VC), KHB Botha, BL Demont, KJ Ekstand, MS Lancaster, EJ McAllister, NU Mntungwa
Nicholson
CM Cherayi (C), JO Odell (VC), CS Gibbs, SJ Hughes, KR Jenkins, PA Louwrens, DT Moodley, JO Odell
Pape
MS Qasha (C), MU Canham (VC), MU Canham, JF Harley, TJ Kufal, MM Maphanga, ML Mfusi,
DC Naidoo
Snow
AB Hadebe (C), RDM Anderson (VC), RDM Anderson, ZR Moses, L Nkabane, F Thabethe, WJ Trodd, N Westerdale
Strachan
JJ Fincham (C), JC Steyn (VC), JJ Fincham, JC Harris, ST Mazibuko, V Premchund, OA Radebe, WG Strachan