THEME: STEPPING INTO A NEW SEASON
Welcome back to school for the start of the second term. I also extend an especially warm welcome to the new staff today – Mr Mahoga (creative and visual arts) and Mr Ramdeen (English).
Also to all new boys today, as well as the four student teachers, who will be with us with the next few weeks. I hope that ALL your respective journeys at Maritzburg College are long, prosperous and happy.
I also hope that for all of us it is a term of energy, ambition and, in the end, hard work deservedly rewarded.
We have some guests with us today. They are passionate Old Collegians, honorary life member Mr Bruce Lesur, Mr Grant Reed, relatively recent sixth former Mr Sandiso Dlamini, and our visiting pastor this morning, Mr Mark Slevin.
A New Season
Today is of course the beginning of a new term — a clean slate. It’s your opportunity to start again. To push reset and to refocus. Whether the last term was one you’re proud of, or one you’d rather forget, what matters now is what you choose to do next.
This week is filled with new beginnings. A new academic term. A new winter sport season — time to chase down the ball, the goal, the try-line, and your potential with fresh hunger.
There are games to be played, tackles to be made, goals to be scored — and above all, pride to be earned.
You wear the red, black, and white — earn it, every day.
And tomorrow, a new chapter for our school begins with the formal announcement of our new headmaster, a new leader to take this great school forward.
We must all give him our full support, so that he is fully equipped to carry out the sacred task of leading our school.
New beginnings aren’t always easy. They challenge us. They stretch us. But they also awaken us. And College men do not shrink from change — we rise to meet it. We charge headlong into challenge, with courage, discipline, and heart.
Change can be unsettling — but it is also full of promise. Embrace the unknown. Show resilience and grit. Show the best version of yourselves.
College men do not drift with the tide — we set the course. So set yours boldly.
This term, I challenge you to begin again.
And I stress to you: whatever has gone before — leave it behind.
What matters is what you do now. How you train. How you play. How you learn. How you lead.
And remember, being a College boy is not just about what happens on the field — it’s about who you are in the classroom, in the corridors, and in the quiet moments when no one is watching.
Work hard at your academics. Honour your mind the way you honour your body in sport. Self-discipline is the foundation of excellence — and the habits you build now will shape your entire future.
Stand up for each other. Lift each other. Challenge each other to be better.
Because this is your brotherhood — and it lasts for life.
This is your moment, gentlemen. Make it count.
Holiday Sport
The sincere thanks of the entire school go to all the staff and boys who gave up parts of their holiday – in some case, large parts of it – to represent our school in a whole manner of activities.
Full details of all the results are here
Commitment
I’d now like to say a few words on the vital topic of COMMITMENT.
Gentlemen, we are a school of proud traditions — forged in discipline, character, and excellence.
But tradition alone does not carry a school forward. What matters — what always matters — is commitment.
Commitment is showing up, not just when it’s easy, but especially when it’s hard. It’s going the extra mile in the classroom, staying behind after practice, rehearsing that line one more time, choosing to study when your friends aren’t, or choosing to lead when no one else will.
Every one of you wears the badge of this great school. But let me ask you: Are you living up to it? Are you earning it, every day?
Your schoolwork is not just about grades — it’s about habits, about who you are when no one’s watching.
Sport and cultural activities — they aren’t extras; they are arenas of growth, where character is tested, where friendships are forged, where you learn what it means to fight for something greater than yourself.
And your Core Values — they are not just words on a wall or on metal banners.
They are the standard by which you are measured. Not by the world out there — but by the brothers beside you, and the man you are becoming.
You do not belong to an average school. You belong to Maritzburg College. And that means something.
That means we work harder. We push ourselves further. We show up for each other. We lead, we serve, we honour the badge, and we never, ever settle.
So, I challenge you all today: to recommit. To your studies. To your sport. To your culture. To each other.
You are not here to be ordinary — you are here to become exceptional. So, earn your place. Honour your brothers. Live the badge.
Let’s work hard this week, and let’s give our friends from Glenwood a good working-over on the weekend.
Pro Aris et Focis
Mr M Marwick
ACTING HEADMASTER