Mr. Andrew Clayton, Class of 1991
It is my privilege and pleasure to welcome:
- Our Patron, The Headmaster, Mr Chris Luman and
- Senior Deputy Head Master, Mr Matthew Marwick
- Honorary Life Members
- Past Presidents
- Past Head boy of 2018, Mr Ntuthuko Mchunu
- Old Boys Executive members
- Old Boy Life Members
- The Chairman of the School Board, Mr Craig McKenzie
- Teaching staff of College
- Moms and Dads – the Parents, Uncles and Aunts, family members and Care Givers
And most importantly
- Our honoured guests, that this evening is all about, our Matric pupils of 2022
- Last year we 258 boys, being 98% of the 2021 Matrics that attended induction.
- I am delighted to note that we again have 98%, being 260 out of 266 boys, attending tonight.
- I am told those 6 who could not attend tonight have tendered their apologies and will sign and collect their pledges after tomorrow.
I wanted to start, as I did last year, to thank our Moms, Dads and Significant Care Givers;
You must be so proud; your boys are all but done and 5 years have flashed by.
You entrusted College with your son’s high school education, I must congratulate you on a very wise choice and thank you.
I am quite sure College has been a significant part of your lives and I urge you to stay connected via our newly launched “College Connect Community”. Lauren Greger is here tonight and she will gladly share more details with you. You can sign up to College Connect here: https://maritzburgcollegeconnect.co.za/
I do hope you will continue to join us on our sports fields and continue to enjoy and support College.
You are part of our community and we want to keep it that way
To you fine young college men
How exciting, yet nervous it is, as you head into your finals, which we all wish you well with.
Life is ahead for all of you with that commodity that cannot be bought, that cannot be valued, that if it could be sold would make you an overnight billionaire.
It’s called TIME, what will you do with your time, how will you make it count?
I would wager a bet now, that throughout your life time, if you counted the % of time anything “college” related was mentioned in anyway way, I bet it would be a figure of 15% of your time would be consumed or indeed more.
What is College Old Boys, what is this “brother hood” that you are joining tonight?
On January 22 this year we celebrated our 125th birthday.
Let’s pause and think on that – 125 years!
- 2 world wars have passed since 1897, with significant acts of courage displayed by college boys, leaders – many gave of their lives for family and country and the free world as we know. We honour these men, these courageous College Old Boys, annually on Reunion weekend.
125 years
I think of: Pro Aris et Focis
I think of:
- Legacy
- Tradition
- Bonds
- Heritage
- Custodians
- Stewards
I think of “College4Life”
You have heard it said, it’s a brother hood, you have seen it etched into our red bricked buildings.
Celebrating the 125th birthday in January, across the globe, there were:
- 72 functions hosted: Breakfasts, lunches and dinners (depending on your time zone) all linked via Zoom, celebrating “Everything: Red – Black & White”.
- The functions spanned
- 5 continents (including Antarctica)
- 12 countries
- 10 Time Zones
- There were 32 locations in South Africa
This past month, the class of 1962 hosted their 60th year Reunion lunch and old boys from across the country enjoyed this:
- 31 attended in person,
- 18 attended virtually
- OC’s from Melbourne, Namibia and Cape town flew in.
- Even 3 of their teachers and past Headmaster, Mr Olivier attended.
It is 60 years on, what makes the young college men, return and feast down together. What do they talk about, could it be stories like: doing the VC, bumping ones head at the bottom of the pool and getting 7 stiches?
Interestingly, if we measure what 60 years of time has delivered for this year group we note:
- 50% graduated with degrees – this is quite something as back in the day it was not as normal as it is today to simply head off to university
- We have
- 3 doctors,
- 2 lawyers,
- 5 vets,
- 3 professors,
- 3 politicians,
- 8 farmers,
- 6 teachers,
- 1 crime scene investigator,
- 2 springbok swimmers, and
- a wine tasting expert!
The class of 1962 produced a wonderful “then and now’ book where each OC wrote down what they had done / achieved.
Almost all, noted their families, their wives, their children and grandchildren with immense pride and I can tell you one thing, College produces “Salt of the Earth Family Men” that are incredible husbands, life partners and Dads.
If every society or country could measure its wealth or success by this “Family Factor” rather than GDP or indeed cars we drive or the size of the house we live in, I personally think we would all be better served.
This past year Old Boys have facilitated so many positive ventures at College and I name but just three significant ones being:
- Solar – R2,5m donated to Maritzburg College. This is such a significant event, not only does it ensure College can now operate 24/7/365, with the endless load shedding now addressed, but the environmental impacts are enormous in reducing the school’s carbon footprint.
- A multi-purpose car park on the terraces in front of Clark House with seating for 1500 boys and staff for outdoor events. The total cost was R 1.6m and the loan from the Old Boys Memorial trust to assist was R 1.3m
- “CollegeConnect” launched and is live with in excess of R200k now invested into it with a further R300k plus earmarked for next year to ensure that we, College Old Boys, have a world class Business Network that delivers into:
- Empowering career development,
- Wealth creation via business-to-business opportunities,
- Mentoring to support you as you develop through your careers and life.
- Recruitment – Jobs and Vac work will be facilitated through this platform with direct links into companies that old boys either own or manage.
- Relationship building: networking and support.
Reunion finally ran this year
- Golf sold out in 6 min!
- Bowling was sold out
- A hundred old boys enjoyed a Friday morning at college as the school pulled out all the stops to welcome back OC’s from across the globe.
- We had over 600 OC attending the Friday dinner
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- Signature year group class dinners ran for many year groups
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- Thousands of old boys returned to enjoy the rivalry against Hilton on the Saturday
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- The Veteran’s lunch in the Victoria hall was sold out.
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And so I put it to you Matrics, that this is what you are being inducted into tonight this brotherhood
We are Old boys who continue to support our great school that we are so invested into and are so proud of.
We continue to be “bonded” as a brother hood.
Tonight, as you get your old Boys Tie I urge you, in time, to seek out the OC who is named on your tie and to share a beer and a story with them at Reunion Day when ever you may be back.
I want to leave you young men with one last challenge as you head out into the real world and make your mark.
This challenge is one that I think your generation is key to solving.
Our country is at a tipping point, you would have to be blind not to notice all the crime, corruption and dishonesty that is destroying our country.
If ever there is a time that this country needs Men of Integrity, Men that stand up and lead a change that this country needs, the time is now.
There is not going to be any teacher, housemaster or Headmaster holding you to account to rules of conduct or codes anymore, it is up to you to hold yourself accountable to your code for your actions.
It is not always hugely significant events that lead to change, so often it can be the small things that start the change.
When you attend a job interview, you will always be asked by the interviewer, “Do you have any questions”. Say, “Yes”, and ask the interviewer about
- the company’s corporate responsibilities
- the companies’ views and polices on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)
If these do not fit with your morals, thank the company and walk away and let them know why.
If someone is trying to do a business deal with you and you get a sense of something untoward is underlying the transaction. Be the whistle blower and don’t do it.
Our virtues for Life that have been chiselled into us that define us as College Men, those of: Self Discipline, Commitment, Integrity, Courage, Respect & Honesty have never been as critically needed as they are today.
And so in the famous words of the world’s best film I say to you.
“Gentlemen, you are the top 1 % of all South African Men matriculating this year, the elite, the best of the best. College Old Boys will make you better!
Smash your finals, go out into the world and make your mark. This is what you have been trained to do, make South Africa proud.
Good luck and I look forward to handing out your tie and formally welcoming you into old boys this evening.
Pro Aris et Focis
Andrew Clayton
President MCOBA
