Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
History
St. Michael's Diocesan College was founded in Pietermaritzburg in 1896 by James Cameron Todd, an Anglicancanon. The school was established as a private venture with fifteen boys in two small houses in Loop Street.
James Cameron Todd had a clear idea of what he wanted the school to be. He wrote: "A man's tone, moral and spiritual, as well as intellectual, is largely determined for life by his school."
Within a few years, Michaelhouse became the Diocesan College of Natal, governed by a permanent trust deed and administered by a board of governors.
In 1901 the school relocated to Balgowan, when some 77 boys took up residence in the buildings which remain the core to the school to this day. Its name was later changed to Michaelhouse. The school adopted the 9th century chorale "Stars of the Morning"[1] as its official school hymn.
Motto
The Latin school motto, Quis ut Deus translates to 'Who like God?', or, less literally, 'Who is like God?'. This motto is derived from the name of the school whose origin stems from the HebrewMikha'el which translates to the same.[2] The school hymn, Stars of the Morning, reflects this with the line "'Who like the Lord?' thunders Michael, the Chief."
Hilton College and Michaelhouse have enjoyed a long history of friendly rivalry. The two schools have much in common and are the only two full boarding schools remaining in KwaZulu-Natal. The schools are located near one another in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
The bond between Hilton and Michaelhouse has developed since 1904 when the two schools played their first rugby match at Hilton College, which Hilton won 11-0. Both schools consider each other their main fixture in all sporting disciplines. The high point of this rivalry is the biannual Hilton-Michaelhouse Day. This event, held alternately between the two schools, sees them play one another in rugby and hockey. The culmination of the day is the main rugby match between the two schools' 1st XVs, which is the oldest continuous rugby fixture in Kwa-Zulu Natal.[5]
Academics
The years of study are referred to as blocks E to A. "A block" is the equivalent of grade 12 or year 12 and has boys aged 17 or 18 and "E block" is the equivalent of grade 8 or year 8 and has boys aged 13 or 14.
Michaelhouse educates boys and has an academic staff of about seventy with a male teaching quotient of approximately 62%; the master(teacher)/pupil ratio is 1:10. Each grade has 6 classes with approximately 21 boys per class.[6]
The school was founded in a building in Loop Street, Pietermaritzburg. It had capacity for about 30 boys in total, but it was not long before that became inadequate.
Around the turn of the century, approximately 60 acres (24 ha) of land in the picturesque Balgowan valley, approximately 45 minutes north-west of Pietermaritzburg was donated to Rector James Cameron Todd. The buildings were started in 1900 and the school took occupation in 1901. The first buildings to be completed were the existing administration block, vestry and gallery of the now extended chapel, and Founders House.
The Michaelhouse Nature Reserve
The hill overlooking Michaelhouse is one of the rarer biomes in the country (Midlands mistbelt grassland) and is the preferred habitat for an indigenous antelope, the Oribi.
The Estate
The original school buildings are made of traditional Pietermaritzburg red brick. The entire school is built in a lattice of quadrangles. It is in fact possible to move from one end of the school buildings to the other without ever having to get wet on a rainy day.[8]
Boarding houses
There are ten boarding houses. The house system was put in place by Rector Warin Bushell in 1928. Initially, four houses were established but as the school grew the number of houses increased. These are, in order of age, with foundation date in brackets:
The colours and designs of each house flag
Founders (1928, formerly called "Rector's" and "Foundation North")
East (1928, formerly called "Foundation East")
West (1928, formerly called "Foundation West")
Farfield (1928)
Tatham (1935, formerly called "Tathams")
Pascoe (1940)
Baines (1956)
Mackenzie (1995)
Ralfe (2020)
McCormick (2020)
Each boarding house houses about 70 boys in dormitories of four to twelve for the younger boys and in double and single rooms for the senior boys.
The boys share two dining halls (one for senior boys and one for juniors) for their meals and are supplied by a kitchen, with an on-site bakery and butchery.
The chapel
The chapel is an important focal point in the school's architecture and ethos. The chapel was built running from North to South with the apse at the North end.
The Michaelhouse Chapel, full school Eucharist, 2019
In the 1940s, however, the chapel was no longer big enough to fit the entire school in for a service. Thus the chapel was extended towards the East. Because of World War II, the chapel was only finished in the 1950s. A memorial to those who died in World War II is outside the entrance to the chapel.
The original chapel now forms the gallery and vestry. The apse of the old chapel is used as a baptism font. The extended chapel can seat nearly 600 people. Beneath the new chapel is a crypt which is used for smaller prayer meetings and services. The crypt can seat 30 people.
The chapel has a bell-tower, installed in the 1950s with a carillon of eight bells. It has been a tradition (with unknown origins) that only boys from Tatham House may ring the bells. The bells are rung before each chapel service (there are three services a week, although not all are compulsory).
The Schlesinger Theatre
A 550-seat theatre was built and completed in 1976. It was opened at a ceremony by Elizabeth Sneddon in 1976. The theatre hosts a variety of performances, mainly aimed at the resident population of pupils. However, the theatre is open to the local community. Many performers give a one night performance on their way between runs in Johannesburg and Durban.
The Schlesinger theatre is one of a number of facilities at the school that was funded by an old boy.
The Indoor Centre
The construction of the Inglis Indoor Centre was finally completed in the month of August 2006. It is named after James Inglis, a past chairman of the Board of Governors. In summer it is used for basketball and cricket and has three courts that can be used simultaneously as well as 4 indoor turf cricket nets, whilst during winter it is used for indoor hockey.
The centre also features a cafeteria/restaurant which is available to the pupils as well as the public, and accommodation for visiting teams to stay overnight.
High Performance Sports Centre, 2022
Other features
The library is stocked with over 16,000 books and has an adjoining 50 seat lecture theatre. There are four Science laboratories, three Biology laboratories and four computer centres. The school has a sanatorium and laundry service. The staff reside on the estate.
Lecture room, 2019Statue of the Archangel Michael at the front of the school looking out to the Balgowan valley.
Sporting facilities
There are 11 playing fields:
Willows - named after the Willow trees that stand along its length.
Vlei - an Afrikaans name meaning marsh or bog. This is because of the field's affinity for flooding during heavy rains.
Meadows - used as the main rugby field.
Far Meadows - adjacent to Meadows
Holleys
Tarpeys - grew millet during World War II to feed the school.
Baileys - the former main rugby field. Moved to Meadows when seating the hundreds of fans on its small banks became a problem
Aitkens Astroturf - formerly a grass pitch, the astroturf was completed in 2001.
Punchbowl Astroturf -It was a junior cricket oval,the new astroturf was completed in 2019.
Hannahs - a senior cricket oval.
Roy Gathorne Oval - the first team's cricket oval, named after Roy Gathorne.
These include six turf cricket pitches, two artificial astroturf hockey surfaces, a heated swimming pool (12 lanes by 25 metres), a heated water polo pool, eight tennis courts, a weight training facility, a six courtsquash complex, a golf driving range with artificial putting green, an indoor sports centre (used primarily for basketball and indoor hockey - the facility also houses four artificial surface indoor cricket practice nets) and a dam for canoeing.
Since the school was founded in 1896, it has produced approximately 8700 alumni. Around 6650 are living. Alumni are members of the Michaelhouse Old Boys' Club. The Club was founded on Whit Monday, 1 June 1903. The School's Founder (Reverend James Cameron Todd) was the Club's first President. The Club is headquartered in the Heritage Centre on the school campus.
Notable alumni
The year of matriculation is given in brackets, where it is known.
^"Archived copy". www.michaelhouse.org. Archived from the original on 11 November 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
