31 Centenary Edition Back row (L-R): Taylin Govender (G), Luc Nazar (G), Garrick Steele (G), David Willington (P), Njabulo Cele (G), Amile Gumbi (G), Aphiwe Ngwenya (G), Max Hastings-Brown (S), Luke Ambler-Smith (F), Tom Gourley (F), Calvin Davis (P), Kade Arnot (P), Oscar Burgess Barker (S), Joshua Gillespie (S), Ross Parkinson (P), Darren Dry (P), Ben Hanger (P), Dylan Cohen (S), Benjamin Oellermann (P) 6th row: Jarryd Bester (P), Bryce Tayler (G), Andrew Sandy (S), Luka Koumantarakis (S), Noah Dammann (S), Boipelo Dube (G), Sphe Zondi (S), Joshua Soanes (P), Darren Holing (S), Matthew Jacobs (P), Tyga Pollock (F), Matthew Pender-Smith (G), Dylan Forbes (P), Ben Robertson (P), Sean Rosewarne (P), Shail Chetty (P), Michael Weyer (G), Flynn Bunyan (S) 5th row: Wynand Vermaak(G), Louis Nel (G), Dean Gibbs (G), James Jordan (G), Matthew Crookes (F), Dylan Hulett (G), Zipho Dhlomo (P), Oliver Fly (S), Nqobile Dweba (G), Kevin Jordaan (G), Katlego Phetla (S), Bandile Nzuza (P), Michael Ngwenya (F), David Shelly (F), Campbell Davison (F), Daniel Beere (G), Rubin Rheeder (G) 4th row: Joshua van der Merwe (S), Cameron Fenton (G), Chris Henwood (G), Daniel Lawrie (P), Matthew Foord (F), Craig Dahl (G), Lex Rencken (F), Dylan Westoby (F), James Riceman (S), Seth Vallance (G), Heath Adams (P), Michael Tainton (S), Talumba Masamba (P), Sethu Jackson (F), Mark Wood (P), Ben Field (F), Matthew Schramm (F), Jack Murray (P), Declan Sumner (F), Travis Franz (P) 3rd row: Liyabona Cezula (G), Bulelani Nodada (F), Benjamin d’Avice (F), Adam Stonier (S), Rourke Paterson (S), Luke du Toit (F), Connor Soulsby (P), Cayson Saunders (F), Ongama Duze (S), Kamo Bikwane (F), Trent Coetzee (F), Luke van Eeden (F), Thomas Storm (P), Singele Mkhize (F), Bevan Crookes (F), Cameron de Beer (F), Ethan Ceronio (P), Luke Sacco (G), Daniel Akal (F) 2nd row: Nicholas Kidd (S), Josh Lee (S), Luke Brown (F), Judah Gibson (F), Adam Gibson (S), Gontse Machaba (F), Ite Machobane (G), Bakhe Dlamini (S), Thoba Buthelezi (P), Ntsika Gwebu (S), Cade Peens (G), Matt Haslam (G), Nhlangano Zulu (G), Marnus du Toit (G), Campbell Duckworth (S), Tim Dladla (G), Kian Taylor (F), Alex Thorpe (F) Seated: Matthew McMurray (P), Bryce van der Merwe (P), Nic van Heerden (P), Prince Dube (F), Kwazi Moyo (S), Mr André van Zyl (Grade Head), Rahul Paul (Headboy) (S), Mr Elwyn van den Aardweg (Headmaster), Mhleli Khuzwayo (Deputy Headboy) (P), Luke Robertson, Ryan Wimbush (P), Menzi Mhlungu (G), Daniel de Kock (G), Jens Otto (S), Tyler Gray (G) GRADE 12 (House shown in brackets: F - Finningley; G - Gillingham; P - Pembroke; S - Sheffield) Headboy’s Speech Speech Day September 2021 Many people don’t really know or understand the amount of preparation and time that goes into writing a speech, especially on occasions such as these, so I thought I’d share just a bit of the process with you. Good morning to the Headmaster, staff, special guests, parents and the boys of the College. The construction of a speech begins with a conversation. I must know who I’m talking to, the theme of the occasion, what needs to be said, what definitely should not be said and most importantly, how to start and end the speech. As headboy, I’m sure it is thought that these speeches are written well in advance. They’re usually not. People also assume that these speeches are relatively decent because of my perceived natural speech-writing ability, or my love for public appearances. However, behind the scenes, a different story is told. I read through seven prior speeches, deleted, and rewrote, scrapped it all and started again. Hitting a brick wall, I got help from a friend who has always helped with my speeches in the past, and the two of us teamed up to tackle the task. Kearsney has never been surface deep. Driving through the gates, the grounds are pristine, the buildings are beautiful. That’s not down to luck, or talent. That’s down to countless hours of effort, and numerous days of persistence. Kearsney isn’t renowned for our culture, our sports or our academic results because of natural superiority. It is down to that extra mile, that unity, that pride. Growing up, whenever I’d argue with my parents or just wasn’t happy with the way things were going, I’d tell them that whatever it is that had happened “isn’t fair.” My dad would simply smile and respond, “Life isn’t fair.” I finally agree. Life isn’t fair. It doesn’t follow calendars, goals, routines or dreams. This year is the epitome of it. It didn’t consider the countless hours of early morning HP training, practise, studying or speech writing. It left us with nothing to show for our efforts. We’ve lost so much and often; we don’t get a chance to process and reflect. With everything that is currently going on, the chaos that racks the world and the unrelenting looting at this time in our lives, life just continues to carry on moving. The longer we wait, the further we fall behind. Just like a speech, unless you continue talking, you can fall behind. The centenary graduates of Kearsney College have understood that we cannot mindlessly wait for our return to normality, although it is comfortable and uncomplicated for the most part. So, what can we take from this year? The Class of 2021: Deadly viruses, national shutdowns and provincial lootings. The Class of 2021: School closed. Friendships faded. Friends and family members lost. The Class of 2021: 11 honours cum laude, 13 academic honours, countless colours and half colours awards, provincial and national sportsmen, numerous amazing singers and actors. And 130 Kearsney gentlemen. Our school doesn’t just react and rebound. We retry, resolve and regrow. Again, this is not just down to our resilience, but that of the teachers, the kitchen staff and the ground staff. Every single person who represents Kearsney in some way, shape or form is ingrained with that ethos. The pride that causes them to donate every ounce of energy to the school. For that, the boys are eternally thankful. A pandemic was never going to be enough to halt Kearsney’s prestige. Despite all that has gone wrong and may still go wrong, as a school we must carry on moving, appreciate what we still have and look forward to what’s coming next. This pandemic has evidently changed the world forever, but we can’t let that take away who we are and who we’ve grown to be. We are the graduates of the centenary year at Kearsney, an inspiring honour that we have been graced with, and it is the hundreds of gentlemen before me and on the camera screen that have this incredible mantle to help launch Kearsney into the next centenary. The home of these greyhounds is now the home of tomorrow’s doctors and engineers, lawyers
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