There were many “wide eyes”, nervous laughs and bags packed full to the brim, but plenty of enthusiasm nevertheless, as Durban High School welcomed over 200 pupils into Grade 8 on Monday, January 11th for their first day of orientation.
Although the school year officially starts on Wednesday, January 13th, DHS invited the Grade 8 learners to start off the year early to learn just what it means to be a DHS boy – and they were encouraged to kick off DHS’s 150th year on a positive note.
The morning began with Mr Leon Erasmus, Head Master of DHS, welcoming the “newcomers” into the DHS family. He spoke about the School’s mission statement, creating young men of substance and character, as well as being upstanding members of society. He then handed over to Head Prefect, Mvumeleni Mathenjwa, who introduced himself and his fellow prefects and encouraged the Grade 8s to make the most of their high school careers and welcomed them all into the “DHS brotherhood”.
After the initial welcome, the boys were split up into groups and were given a tour of the school. Then it was on to a number of sporting trials and tests.
The general consensus amongst the newcomers was that they felt nervous and excited at the same time, but most found they were a lot more relaxed once they had met the Head Master and prefects and were pleased to be part of the heritage of Durban’s oldest school
