Prep 1999 - 2007
The Diocesan College was in fact three schools at the beginning of 1999; the senior school (the College), the junior school (the Prep), and the pre-preparatory school (the Pre-Prep). Each unit had its own line manager, but the Principal was Principal over all three schools. The whole establishment is owned by the Diocesan College Council, the body set up in 1891 to relieve the Archbishop of the direct responsibility for the school. The Prep classes were initially part of the College, housed in what was later to be called School House, until the Prep was set up as an independent unit in 1919 with the purchase of Rossall having been concluded in September 1918. This stately home was big enough to accommodate classrooms and dormitories. Stanmore was then purchased from the Twentyman-Jones family in 1920. H.E. Evan Thomas was appointed as Senior Master from 1920, and was followed by Guy MacKarness, under whom the Prep flourished. According to P. N. Le Mesurier’s history of the Prep, “The Prep would still be governed by the college Council; the Senior Master would still act under the direction of the Principal, though as the years passed this would become more guidance, leadership and colleagueship than control”.
The Pre-Prep was set up in 1962 as an independent unit, and Pre-Prep boys had to write the Prep entrance exam; there was no automatic passage through to Prep. This unpopular situation continued till 1969, when the Council agreed that the Pre-Prep should come under the direct control of the Senior Master (of the Prep), and that a form of the Bishops uniform should be introduced. In addition to the Sub A and Sub B classes, a nursery class was also introduced in 1971. Mrs Anne Currey was in charge of this unit up till 1968.
The Pre-Prep was made up of two classes in each of Grade R, 1 and 2. Boys then moved up to the Prep into Grade 3, and their classes took place in the Rossall part of the Prep campus, and grades 4,5 6 and 7 classrooms were on the Stanhope side of Duke Street. The Senior Master title was done away and replaced by the title Headmaster in 1992. The Headmaster at the start of 1999 was Raymond ‘Midge’ Hilton-Green who had been appointed to follow Mervin Gray at the start of 1997. Midge had already brought about a number of changes by 1999. He established a Prep Parents Committee which became a powerful and supportive role in the school; a more intensive entrepreneurship course was added to the curriculum as were modules in public speaking, memory training and study skills. Classrooms were upgraded, and the Council had been persuaded to set aside money for upgrading teaching and computer facilities during 1998. Classrooms were upgraded through the introduction of electronic white boards, TVs, overhead projectors, and design boards The introduction of Curriculum 2005 and Outcomes Based Education saw a shift taking place towards theme based teaching, and group work and new methods of assessment.
However, it was also clear that the by now accustomed activities of outings, and touch-based experiential learning remained central to the academic offering as seen in the Grade 7 camp at Geelbek and visits to Koeberg and Saldanha steel mill. Each year group went off on outings to various places in the Cape peninsula to encounter the real world outside of the classrooms. Boys were entered for the National Triathlon in which they performed very well, as also happened in the AMESA Maths challenge. Benchmark testing deigned by Dr Louise Holman through the Independent Examinations Board tested the effectiveness of outcomes at the Foundation level and the Senior and Junior phases of the intermediate years. Boys in grades 6 and 7, as well as grades 1 and 2 sat the tests, which measured specific outcomes in the new learning areas as well as the pupils’ ability to solve problems, give answers to different ways as well as assessing their creativity. In 55 categories, Prep boys were found to be well ahead of national averages.
The full programme of sports continued: rugby and cricket which all boys participated in up to Grade 6, when an element of choice was allowed, but athletics, golf, squash, fencing, cross-country running, tennis and water polo were all fully reported on in the magazine. As was by now a tradition, the Grade 7s ended their year with a formal black tie dinner to which parents were invited, and speeches were made by the boys. During 1999, Mike Bromfield who was teaching at the College, moved to the Prep as Director of Studies, and at the end of the year, Ed Milne retired after 33 years of service at the Prep. The first of a number of Staff Caberets took place to the delight of boys and parents. All the staff performed in skits and send-ups which were uncannily entertaining. A great favourite was Midge on the piano and Rick as the singer, belting out “The Great Pretender”.
During 2000 the OBE curriculum was further introduced, black interns were employed and the full range of academic and sporting activities continued. The “Entrepreneurial Day” was held in the third term, and the drama department put on “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” as the school play.
In April 2001 when Grant Nupen took up the Principalship, one of his first actions was to hold an inclusive and democratic conference involving people from across the full range of the Bishops community. The Prep staff were all fully involved in this 2010 Conference and participated in the eight action groups which were set up following the conference to devise the plans to implement the conclusions of the plenary sessions. There were a number of quick wins which were introduced at the Prep.
The new Pavilion on the Rossall Field was opened, and the Design Technology Department was extended by the addition of a fully functional cooking school and the computer network was enlarged by ten more computers. Working on the principle that the more the boys were involved in a variety of activities, the more they would learn, a wide range of clubs and societies was introduced, which took place after sport in the afternoons.
In 2002, Midge Hilton-Green attended the 19th Annual Entrepreneurship Education Forum in San Antonio, Texas, where he presented a paper on teaching young children business skills (‘Empowering Pupils’). Dr Cathy Ashmore of the Ohio State University presented him with a plaque for “Outstanding Leadership in the Field of Business Creativity and Entrepreneurship”. Over the last decade Midge had appeared on television, radio, in National newspapers and magazines and was a founder member of the Entrepreneurship Education Initiative formed in the early 90s. He was one of the first Heads to introduce the teaching of entrepreneurship into the curriculum (1988) and had been consulted by many schools across South Africa in this regard.
Curriculum 2005 had had a confused start nationally, until Dr Kadar Asmal (the national Minster of Education) set up a Review Committee under Prof Linda Chisholm which produced the revised Curriculum 2005. After this formalisation, the learning area called ‘Economic and Management Sciences’ now required the teaching of entrepreneurship as part of the curriculum. The other new learning areas were ‘Life Orientation’ and ‘Arts and Culture’. Midge commented in his end of year report at Prizegiving. “A major shift in our emphasis over the past 5 years continues to be the one from producing a group of pupils to producing a group of individuals. To help each pupil develop their potential in and around the framework that is offered requires more work than ever before, but we feel it vital to try to address each individual’s needs wherever possible.”
The entire school was rocked by the sudden death in October 2003 of Rick Skeeles, the Deputy Headmaster, and perhaps one of the best loved and admired teachers at the Prep. He was wise in the ways of boys, and would happily crouch down to the boys’ level to play marbles when invited to. In his youth he had been a great sportsman; as an adult he passed on his energy and enthusiasm to coaches and boys alike. He was buried from the Memorial Chapel at the College, and old Prep boys then in the College who attended the service, wore their Prep ties to honour his memory.
After Rick Skeeles’s death, two new Deputy Headmasters were appointed: Mike Bromfield and Rob Riches. The entire first floor of Stanmore was converted into an art room, and plans were set in place to upgrade the whole Bramley/Van der Bijl section of the school.
Following the creation of the Bishops Support Unit at the College, Anne Macdonald, a qualified psychologist, was appointed as a school counsellor for the Prep, as were teacher aides in each of the Pre-Prep classes. Tutor groups were introduced in Grades 6 and 7. The drama department, working together with St Cyprian’s, produced the musical “Smike” (based on Dickens’s novel, “Nicholas Nickleby”). The range of cubs and societies grew, and by the end of 2003 the fascinating list of offerings included the following: Drama, Cricket Scoring, Stamps, Board Games, Science Experiments, Candle Wax Creations, Origami, Toast Masters, Dancing, Superkidz, Computer Club, Cooking, Balsa Wood Models, Mind-Mapping Society, Pops, and Italian Pastas.
During the second term, the Prep began its outreach programme by joining up with Hyde Park Primary school for ongoing class exchanges. This was later increased to include three more schools; Elandsriver Primary, John Parma and Liwe Primary in Langa. The Prep Music Concert took place in the third term.
In 2005, a new fitness centre was established, a new leadership approach was set up in which all Grade 7s were given badges of office and portfolio tasks, and opportunities to serve their fellows. The Grade 7 entrepreneurial course began, which involved several market days in the school, when groups were able to market and sell their products, and then report on their success. During the year, the white boards which were now several years old were replaced by smart boards.
Following the setting up of the Diversity and Transformation committee of council, in 2006, the school held a week-long programme called “Harmonising Bishops”, centred on the concept of learning to value difference, particularly socio-cultural difference. Special programmes were arranged at the Prep and the Pre-Prep and sensitivity workshops were arranged for parents as well. An exchange was set up with Gericke Primary in Ceres, where Prep boys were billeted out with Gericke parents.
2007 was to be the last year of Midge’s headship. He had been a busy head, and his cheery, witty and impish sense of humour had endeared him to the school – teachers, boys and parents. His innovative approach, and the range of activities he encouraged encompassed both the regular curriculum but also many of the life skills which increasingly are being understood as an essential aspect of schooling for the 21st century. His successor was to be Greg Ferguson-Brown, Head of the Grove Primary, a highly respected Head in the Cape Town schools. At Midge’s request, the Interhouse singing competition was held a year earlier than it was scheduled. A Youth Pastor was appointed to assist the Chaplain. An exercise specialist was appointed, which allowed for a more professional approach to the fitness centre and to wellness, together with a sports co-ordinator to manage the administration of Prep sport. There was a hockey and rugby tour to Natal; the school produced “Bugsy Malone” as the school play, and the first phase of the multi-functional recreational facility – an astroturf surface for sport, physical education and other outdoor activities – was completed. The second phase of this project would be the construction of a roof.
In his final address at Prizegiving in December 2007, Midge said: “I had a dream of entrenching the teaching of thinking skills, mind mapping, memory training, financial awareness, goal setting, forward planning and leadership skills; to develop self confidence and awareness of others. I tried to formalize part of the hidden curriculum and tried to highlight the practical and the useful.”
