HOWICK HIGH’S

Howick High School’s head prefects for 2023 were revealed at the school’s annual prizegiving and speech night. They are Hannes Jacobs (deputy head), Travis Pitout (head prefect), Sarah Arnott (head prefect) and Vahini Chaggan (deputy head). The schools wished them and their team of senior leaders a year full of rewarding moments and great achievements.

Last week Maritzburg College held the 11th annual Passing of the Drum Ceremony, a formality first introduced in 2012, to celebrate the appointment of the school’s pupil leadership for the next year.

These include the 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 five senior prefects to lead its student leadership team: they are head prefect for 2023, Sasha Kadira, senior deputy head prefect, Luc du Toit and deputy head prefects, Judah Conolly, Thaseen Ganie and Sikuwe Msibi.

There are also three shouting captains– congratulations to Sandiso Dlamini, Luhle Sithole and Salathiso Zulu. These young men have a unique role at College, with its emphasis on spirit and camaraderie.

Voted for by their peers, each year it is the job of the shouting captains to inspire and cajole the troops on Basher Ridge, Pape’s and elsewhere, to get behind the College teams.

The school also named its house leaders, house captains and vice captains for the 10 day houses. 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. It is their job to ensure a happy, efficient and disciplined home for our 475 boarders.

Congratulations go to Luc du Toit (head of Bboarding and head of Hudson House), Judah Conolly (head of Nathan House), Michael van Selm (head of Clark House),

Sikuwe Msibi (head of Shepstone House) and Sean Meter (head of Elliott House).

A very special part of this annual assembly is the passing of the drum from the outgoing head prefect to the new incumbent, symbolising the passing of authority to the incoming leaders of 2023.

For many years it has been 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 2022 to the prefects of 2023.

At this year’s ceremony, senior boarder prefect, Sphephelo Mbonambi placed a personal message of support in the old drum, and handed the custodianship of the drum to Sasha Kadira, the 2023 head prefect.