41 Centenary Edition Finningley House Housemaster’s report As we say goodbye to 2021, the boys of Finningley may well look back on the year that was with a mixture of pride tinged with a little sadness. The COVID-19 pandemic has not left us unscathed, and we stand in support of several boys in the house who have lost loved ones during this challenging time. If we were to cast our minds back to March of 2020, I am sure we would not have imagined the world which we now inhabit. The routine in the House has been turned on its head. Almost every procedure has had to be reworked. Mealtimes and seating arrangements have changed significantly. Meals are staggered, boys are limited to how many may sit at a table and much of the life of the House has become fragmented. Senior-junior relationships have been tested, and the need to socially distance has prevented the boys from interacting as they used to. COVID-19 has tested us to the core. We have had to become adaptable, and at the same time we have remained cognisant of the importance of retaining as many routines and traditions as possible. Throughout all these challenges the Finningley leadership has remained steadfast. The 2021 Prefects faced situations that no boy should have to endure – they have had to balance the extreme demands of a much-changed world with the need to minimise the impact on their charges. I am eternally grateful to them. I would like to salute the resolve shown by Head of House, Prince Dube, Deputies Ben D’Avice, Gontse Machaba, Singele Mkhize and Ben Field. You have not faded in the face of the challenge and through your efforts Finningley finds itself in a position of unity and strength. I have every expectation that the 2022 leadership cohort will take up the mantle and continue the work started by this year’s prefects. In 2022 Head of House, Joshua Owen, and Deputies Enzo Cocciante, Kayden Robinson, Matthew Campbell and Matthew Gray, Finningley is well prepared to face to challenges that the new year may pose. Finningley College once again reaffirmed itself as a truly inclusive and welcoming house. As many as 78% of Finningley boys board, and this is testament to the ethos of the House. This ethos of respect and collegiality is engendered to a large degree by both the boys as well as the duty staff that Finningley can boast. In Jono Waldburger, Brett Alborough and Brad Savage-Reid we have been blessed with men who are not just duty staff, but also role models for the boys of the House. Their dedication to the young men of the College is unmatched and they balance approachability and empathy with discipline and adherence to tried and tested structures and traditions. The boys of Finningley will look to improve on their performance in the inter-house competition in 2022. The truncated inter-house competition of 2021 saw Finningley struggle to assert themselves. Unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19 ensured that we were not able to compete in our strongest competitions and the fact that our squash, rugby and golf boys were left out in the cold was not insignificant in the final reckoning. I have no doubt that the Class of 2022 are up for the challenge and I expect a distinctly different leaderboard to be on display towards the end of next year. And with the turning of the page, so comes the end of the chapter - a chapter full to the brim with love and loss, endings and new beginnings, jubilation and despair, but mostly pride in the House that is Finningley College. Seven years have gone in the blink of an eye for me as Housemaster and I would not swap them for anything in the world. As much as I hope I impacted positively on the lives of the boys who have come through the House over the last seven years, they too have impacted upon me. This Finningley House is a special place where our blood, of course, is BLUE. “Since when,” he asked, “Are the first line and last line of any poem Where the poem begins and ends?” ― Seamus Heaney To Jono Waldburger, Pierre Le Roux and the duty staff for 2022, I wish you all the best. You have inherited a special place, populated by boys who will give their all for the elephant. Our corridors are imbued with the laughing echoes of those who have gone before because the Finningley brotherhood is one of the few constants in a world buffeted by constant winds of change. Up the Blues! Mr Jonathan Beaumont Back row: (L-R) Cameron Roache (11), Nhlakanipho Ngubane (11), Matthew Schramm (12), Ethan Hughes (11), Declen Sumner (12), Lathi Sali (10), Iviwe Shongwe (9), Fynn Pollock (11), Tom Gourley (12), Joshua Howse (11), Ben Livesey (10), Ayanda Jackson (9), Sithe Fumanisa (11), David Shelly (12), Craig Gill (9), Lehumo Mahlabana (11), Ryan Browning (9), Matthew Campbell (11), Heinrich Fourie (9) Sixth row: (L-R) Clyde Westoby (9), Ben van Herzeele (11), Salusiwe Mqobongo (10), Guy Roberts (10), Tyga Pollock (12), Lex Rencken (12), Owen Payne (11), Hayden Davel (10), Joshua Owen (11), Matthew Fitzgerald (11), Luke van Eeden (12), Jacques Minnaar (11), Adam Hatty (10), Sethu Jackson (12), Bulelani Nodada (12), Dhiyarv Govender (10), Sim Mkhize (10), Seth Abrahams (10), Otsile Ntsele (10), Michael Ngwenya (12) Fifth row: (L-R) Campbell Davison (12), Luke Brown (12), Enzo Cocciante (11), Kayden Robinson (11), Matthew Gray (11), Blake Kruger (9), Callum Currin (10), Joe Verbaan (9), Dylan Olivier (9), Ruben Fourie (11), Simon Kemp (11), Ryan Denekamp (10), Madanga Xulu (9), Sinqobile Buthelezi (9), Sheyn Le Roux (10), Tyler Atkinson (9), Kian Taylor (12), Toka Kgomo (11), Bevan Crookes (12) Fourth row: (L-R) Clayton Fripp (11), Sphume Nkosi (10), Luke du Toit (12), Woojae Lee (10), Sange Mdunyelwa (10), Matt Langeland-Hansen (10), Ethan McCormick (10), Dylan Olivier (11), Blessings Chiluba (10), Andrew Aspinall (10), Mandu Ntinga (9), Troye Schulz (10), James Radford (10), Nicholas Butler (10), Kieran Pearton (10), Njabulo Gumede (11), Alex Thorpe (12), Ethan Reay (10), Bonga Mbhele (10) Third row: Ayabonga Mngaza (11), Sbongakonke Maphumulo (11), Matt Crookes (11), Judah Gibson (12), Kyle McGladdery (11), Aaron Osborn (10), Daniel Akal (12), Samuel Schmitz (10), Eric Anderson (10), Zwelitsha Sibanyoni (10), Junior Dlamini (10), Cayson Saunders (12), Rocco Klomfass (10), Matthew Bergset (11), Angus Sommerville (11), Mfundo Mthethwa (9), Motheo Nkadimeng (10) Second row: James Peirson (9), Tshepiso Mokoena (9), Samelo Shweni (9), Ayabukwa Skweyiya (9), Ben Cornell (9), Max Buchan (9), Matthew Mendes de Oliveira (9), Luke Emanuel (9), Jack Reid (9), Zipho Cele (10), Cole Rencken (11), Dylan Howard (9), Tyrique Fynn (9), Matthew Olivier (9), Owami Hlongwa (9), Ayabonga Mbuyeleni (9), Callum Schulz (11), Azile Zembe (9), Matthew Huson (9), Mayihlome Soga (9) Front row: Luke Ambler-Smith (12), Cameron de Beer (12), Matthew Foord (12), Singele Mkhize (12) (Deputy Head of House), Mr Brett Alborough (Duty Master), Benjamin d’Avice (12) (Deputy Head of House), Mr Jonathan Beaumont (Housemaster), Prince Dube (12) (Head of House), Mr Jonathan Waldburger (Duty Master), Ben Field (12) (Deputy Head of House), Mr Brad Savage-Reid (Duty Master), Gontse Machaba (12) (Deputy Head of House), Matthew Crookes (12), Trent Coetzee (12), Dylan Westoby (12) (Grade shown in brackets) FINNINGLEY HOUSE
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