On Friday 11 October, Maritzburg College proudly celebrated the exceptional academic achievements of the Class of 2024, at the annual Speech Day and Valedictory Service.

In his address to the boys, College’s headmaster, Dr Chris Luman, praised the boys for their commitment and perseverance, and for the sacrifices made to reach very high levels of academic achievement. He encouraged the Class of 2024 to “finish strong”, to never give up, to strive for progress rather than perfection, to believe in themselves, and to own their dreams and work to make them a reality.

MCollege Speech Day 1 – College’s Headmaster, Dr Chris Luman, with the top three academics for 2024 (R to L); Jandre van Huyssteen (2nd), Jonathan Werth (1st and DUX) and Cameron Ferraz (3rd), Deputy Headmaster: Academics, Mrs Jeanette Finnie and guest speaker Mr Kelvin Watt (OC 1987) and CEO Super Sport Schools.

Guest of honour, Mr Kelvin Watt, (OC 1987) and CEO of SuperSport Schools, spoke to the boys on the need for an entrepreneurial mindset. He emphasised the importance of learning life skills beyond the classroom walls, such as adaptability, resilience, innovativeness, a high level of emotional intelligence and problem solving. He also reminded them of the strong support structures and collective wisdom available to them in the wider College community, especially from the many Old Collegians around the globe.

He ended his address to the 6^th form with the inspiring words of Steve Jobs “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

MCollege Speech Day 2 – Maritzburg College’s outgoing head prefect, Codi Robinson, a young man of exceptional talent and leadership skills, was awarded the Phelps-Cannon Prize for Service to the School, as well as a Merit Certificate, the Charles Taylor Award for Good Fellowship and the Nora Cook Trophy for Altruistic Service

In addition to the various subject prizes and merit certificates, several special awards are handed out to those young men who, in their final year of school, have truly excelled. Special congratulations to our Dux for 2024, Jonathan Werth, who received the 1880 High School Memorial Prize and the Levinsohn Trophy for the Dux of Maritzburg College, as well as a merit certificate, the PKF Trophy for Economics, the prize for English, and the Epoch Optima Prize for Further Studies in Mathematics. Second in 6^th form was Jandre van Huyssteen, who was awarded a merit certificate, the Nedbank Proxime Accessit prize, as well as the prizes for Afrikaans and Physical Science. Cameron Ferraz received the Colenbrander Accountants prize for 3^rd in form as well as a merit certificate, and the prizes for Engineering Graphics and Design and Geography.

Also among the top prize winners were outgoing Head Prefect, Codi Robinson, a young man of exceptional talent and stature, who received a merit certificate, the Phelps-Cannon Prize for Service to the School, the Charles Taylor Award for Good Fellowship (from his peers) and the Nora Cook Trophy for Altruistic Service.  Deputy Head Prefect, Inam Jikijo, another outstanding young man was awarded a merit certificate, the Prize for Life Sciences and the Mike Brown Five Pillars Award.

Several of our boys excel across multiple spheres of life at College. Ryan McKean was awarded a Merit Certificate and the Prize for Achievement in Academics and Sport, while, in addition to his other awards, Inam Jikijo received the Prize for Achievement in Academics and Culture.

Well done to the Class of 2024 – these are young men of stature who have served their school well, and can go forward with pride and courage, knowing that their time at Maritzburg College has prepared them for whatever lies ahead.