Grey High School

Grey High School
Motto	Tria Juncta in Uno ('Three joined in one')
Established	1856
Type	All-Boys Public School
Rector	Mr. Neil Crawford (2001-)
Students	1800+
Grades	8 - 12
Location	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Yearbook	The Grey
Newspaper	Grey Matter
Website	www.greyhighschool.com

Grey High School is an elite public school for boys located in the city of Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Grey High School is not to be confused with Grey College in Bloemfontein, Free State.

History

The school was founded by John Paterson, and named after Sir George Edward Grey, Governor of Cape Colony for the period 5 December 1854 – 15 August 1861.^[1] Sir Grey founded Grey College, Bloemfontein in 1855, and Auckland Grammar School (Auckland, New Zealand) in 1850. The motto of Grey High School is Tria Juncta in Uno meaning 'three joined in one — mind, body and spirit', from the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, of which Sir George Grey was created a Knight Commander in 1848.

The school today

There are over 800 boys including 100 boarders. The school celebrated its 150th jubilee in 2006. The Grey Institute also includes the attached Grey Junior School with almost 800 pupils. The school is currently under the rectorship of Mr. Neil Crawford. The school has a governing body and is a former "Model C" school in South African schooling terminology.

Traditions and Ethos

Grey High School has a strong sense of traditions, and has a variety of annual events and intra mural activities.

Quad Races

Inspired by the film Chariots of Fire which deals with the rivalry between two famous Olympic athletes , Grey High School had both the cloisters and the necessary clock tower to perform this and thus it decided to adapt its own version of a "Quad Race" , held annually.

Matric Students (Final year School Leavers) participate in time trials and the two most nca qualifiers are chosen to compete in the race. They then toss for position, the winner usually choosing the inside lane. They wait for the four quarters to strike on the clock tower before they are set off by the Rector on the first strike of the chimes. They begin the race directly in front of the war memorial and they run in an anti-clockwise direction. They race against each other as well as against the ten chimes which take approximately 20 seconds to ring. The record stands to the name of past staff member, Greg Miller, with a time of 19.8 seconds. He is one of very few who have beaten the clock.^[2]

Robert Selley Memorial Concert

The Selley Concerts were inaugurated in 1986. This was in conjunction with the Founder’s Day celebrations. The Selley Concerts aims to recognise the contribution Robert Selley’s made to the school's music department. This event is hosted annually in the Feathermarket Centre, on the second Wednesday evening in May. The concert showcases the depth and talent of the musicians at Grey High School. The Grey Symphonic Winds, conducted by Grey High's Director of Music, Mr. Shawn Lyon, traditionally performs first, wearing the famed "reds" uniform.^[3] The Old Grey Band is included in the evening's program usually every second year, and consists of old Greys of any age with musical experience who wish to be part of the show. The last time the Old Grey Band took to the stage was in 2013. The Grey Junior School Concert Band, conducted by Mr. Jeff Taylor, also forms part of the show. The Grey Voices represents the school's choir, for which Mrs. Ruth Lyon is the teacher and conductor. The Grey String Orchestra traditionally precedes the Grey Orchestra and is conducted by Mrs. Marliza Taylor. The Grey Orchestra is the final ensemble to perform under the direction of Mr. Shawn Lyon. It is tradition for the concert to conclude with the performance of the school song, "The Grey". The music that is played is chosen not only for its entertainment value, but also to indicate the high standard of musical accomplishment through the mastering of complex arrangements in the widest possible variety of music styles.^[4]

Trooping the Colour

Trooping the colour is performed by various senior members of the cadet detachment, mostly Matrics. The first Trooping the Colour was held on 31st October 1938. ,^[5]

Houses

The house system at Grey High School has a combination of day scholar houses and boarding scholar houses . There are five day-boy houses and two boarder houses, although the boarder houses are collectively seen as one house known as Meriway. The houses compete against each other in events which include academics for points for the Inter House Shield.

House	Colour		Motto	Housemaster
Noaks House	Green		Motto: Fortior Qui Se Vincit (The Man who is Better, Restrains Himself)	Mr Marc Brown[6]
Johnson House	Yellow		Motto: Servabo Fidem (Translation: I Shall Protect the Faith)	Mr Cyril Allwright[7]
Meridith House	Black		Motto: Fratos Mortem	Mr Anton Scholtz[8]
Way House	Red			Mr Anton Scholtz[9]
Thurlow house	Blue		Motto: Justitia Soror Fides (Translation: Justice is the Companion of Faith)	Mr Richard Dolley[10]
Lang House	White			Mr Ryan Laurie[11]
Vipan House	Purple		Motto: Vi et Armis (Translation: By Force and With Arms)	Mr Louis du Plessis[12]

Facilities

The school has various facilities which cater for a good mixture of academics,culture and sport.^[13] The school offers 13 sports (athletics, rugby, hockey, rowing, swimming, waterpolo, cricket, tennis, squash, air-rifle shooting, golf and cross-country) with the notable exception being association football, which is not offered due to a school policy against it.^[14]

Academic Facilities

General Library

Assembly Hall

3 x Computer laboratories

Remedial computer laboratory

Engineering and Graphics Design computer laboratory

Lecture rooms equipped with audio-visual facilities

2 x Physical Science Laboratories

2 x Natural Sciences Laboratories

Sporting Facilities

Heated indoor swimming pool (25m)

2 Floodlit heated outdoor water-polo pools

Floodlit Water-Based Astroturf

4 All-Weather Clay courts

2 squash courts

1 cricket oval

3 Cricket fields

1 Grass hockey field

4 Rugby fields

Weights room

Ergo room

Indoor basketball court

2 outdoor basket ball courts

Physiotherapist rooms

Gymnasium

Cultural Facilities

2 x Rehearsal auditoriums

Art Room

Other Facilities

Centenary Pavilion

Mosenthal Pavilion

Edkins Quadrangle

Restaurant

Tuckshop

Memorial Quadrangle

^[15]

Rowing

Commonly regarded as an elite sport and one of the most demanding sports in the world, rowing requires an incredible amount of mental and physical toughness, as well as a high level of dedication and commitment.^[16] Grey is currently the only school in Port Elizabeth to offer rowing as a sport. Traditionally, many of Grey's rowing boats are named after the wives of previous rectors at the school.

The school's rowing clubhouse is situated in Redhouse, which lies along the edge of the Swartkops River. It is here where Grey rowers train and practice their on-water skills. When not on the river, the boys may make use of the ergo room and school gym on campus to increase their cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance and muscular strength. Due to the intensity of the sport, many hours of training are required on a weekly basis.

Being mostly a team sport, there exists a strong sense of camaraderie amongst Grey rowers. The school year begins with an annual rowing camp, where new members of the club are taught basic rowing techniques and learn all the rules associated with the sport. It is here where new and existing rowers become acquainted with each other and form a strong fellowship. With the first rowing competition in a matter of weeks, the camp creates an ideal opportunity for coaches to ensure their crew/s are ready to race.

A wide array of opportunities exist for Grey rowers to compete, both at a national and international level. 2014 has seen the club travel to Cape Town, Durban, and Pretoria in order to race, with the latter being SA Schools Championships.^[17] This year two U16 boys were selected to represent South African Schools Rowing in Belgium and returned with gold and silver medals.^[18]

Rectors

• JR Macleish (1859–1861)
• J Samuel (1862)
• Rev Henry Isaac Johnson (1863–1872)
• John Thurlow (1874–1884)
• Edward Noaks (1885–1892)
• William Chubb Meredith (1893–1910)
• William Archer Way (1911–1928)
• James Lang (1928–1942)
• Bruce C Gordon (1943–1957)
• Owen Burnet Taylor (1958–1962)
• Stanford Edward Edkins (1963–1976)
• Gustav Dieter Pakendorf (1977–1992)
• Roy Lawrence Simpson (1993–2001)
• Neil Russel Crawford (2001–present)

Notable alumni

• Siya Kolisi, DHL Stormers and Springbok rugby player^[19]
• JJ Engelbrecht, Vodacom Blue Bulls and Springbok rugby player^[20]
• Johan Botha, South African cricketer
• David Callaghan, South African cricketer
• Mike Catt, rugby player, represented England
• Rear Admiral (JG) Derek Christian, Commandant of the South African Military Academy
• Rear Admiral Robert Higgs, Flag Officer Fleet, SA Navy^[21]
• Ian Howell, International Cricket Umpire
• Steven Hunt, South African rugby 7s player
• Barry Jordan, M.Mus., was appointed as organist and choral director of the Magdeburg Cathedral in Germany in August 1994.^[22]
• Sergeal Petersen, SA Schools U18 Rugby, Southern Kings rugby player, SA U20 Squad member
• David Maynier, South African parliamentarian, shadow minister of defence
• Paul Lavender, South African artist^[23]
• David Nosworthy, South African cricketer and coach of the Nashua Titans, Highveld Lions and Canterbury Wizards
• Wayne Parnell, South African cricketer, Warriors cricket player and South African U19 Cricket Captain
• Kevin Paul, swimmer, gold medalist at the 2008 Summer Paralympics for men's 100m Breaststroke SB9 breaking the world record.
• Graeme Pollock, former South African cricketer
• Peter Pollock, former South African cricketer
• Barry Smith, Organist Emeritus, St George's Cathedral, Cape Town; former Associate Professor, Faculty of Music, UCT.
• Rory Stear, founder of Freeplay Energy and a member of the executive committee of the council of the Schwab Foundation for Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs, which is affiliated with the World Economic Forum
• Pieter Strydom, South African cricketer
• Rusty Theron, South African cricketer
• Luke Watson, Rugby player, former captain of Western Province and The Vodacom Stormers and Springbok rugby player
• Eric Lloyd Williams, journalist and war correspondent
• Corbyn Dolley, Warriors cricket player
• David Fanning, Executive producer of the multiple award winning "Frontline", the longest running documentary investigative show in the USA.
• Cliff Drysdale, 1972 US Open Tennis doubles champion as well as a number of other singles & doubles championships. Also represented South Africa in the Davis Cup.
• Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons Leading Herpetologist and Director of the Transvaal Museum

Grey Cycle Tour

The Grey Cycle Tour 2008 was a cycle around the country of South Africa completed by seven students from the Grey High School. All the funds raised went to the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa (CHOC). The idea of the Grey Cycle Tour was to include young people in the fight against cancer. The total distance traveled was 2300 km. In total, R580,000 was raised.

In the media

The school was featured in the second episode of the Australian Seven Network's version of the TV show The World's Strictest Parents.^[24]

Footnotes

References

• Markman, Ivor (2008-01-21). "Joyous welcome as fundraising cyclists return to Grey". The Herald Online. Retrieved 2008-03-23. 
• Top 20 Schools in Africa

External links

• Official website
• Grey High School Rowing website
• Old Grey Union website

Coordinates: 33°57′40″S 25°35′45″E / 33.9612°S 25.5958°E / -33.9612; 25.5958

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