DURBAN High School honoured its Grade 12 achievers at the recent senior speech day awards ceremony.
The invited guest speaker, Luvuyo Mandela (Class of 2003), gave an intellectual and insightful speech that drew on his experience of getting out of one’s comfort zone and stepping up. Mandela, who is the great-grandson of Nelson Mandela, was invited to hand over the awards to the respective achievers.
The outstanding awards for the day were the Kessel Feinstein prize for third in Grade 12 which was awarded to Steven Waites, who also received the AW McIver Prize for history, a merit certificate, and shared the prize for Life Orientation.
In addition, the GB Lapinsky Prize for Dux Proxime Accessit (Dux runner up) was awarded to Hassen Moorad, who also received the Eddie Corlett Prize for accounting, Buxton Family Prize for economics, shared the Transvaal Old Boys’ Prize for English essay as well as the W I Knight Prize for mathematics.
The CG Hands Memorial Prize for Dux was awarded to Joshua Spooner. Spooner has achieved nothing less than a final mark of 90 per cent every year. He also achieved the Shaun Gray Leadership Award, a merit certificate, Alan Turton prize for visual arts, shared the Ladies Committee Prize for visual arts practical, Niekie Gerber Prize for Afrikaans first additional language, Bill Payn Prize for English home language as well as the GJ Armstrong Prize for physical sciences. Among his academic achievements, Spooner was also involved in numerous sporting activities throughout his school career and was deputy head prefect for 2016.
Other achievers who stood out at the event were Hlumelo Mekuto, who won the Christopher Wells Award for Excellence in Sport and Culture and was named the All Round Sports Achiever of the Year. Matthew Hamilton received the Sportsman of the Year Award, deputy head prefect, Libo Mngomezulu, received the prize for English poetry as well as the Patel Family Award for RCL Chairman and head prefect, Mvumeleni Mathenjwa, received the Transvaal Old Boys’ Award (head prefect, Blackmore House), George Armstrong Award (head prefect, school), Geoff Mace Award for Excellence in Academics, Sport and Culture, Innocent Chamane Prize for IsiZulu first additional language, as well as the Headmaster’s Award, the first of its kind at DHS.
