Treverton is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year, together with an exceptional history of growth and development since it opened its doors in 1964.
The major celebrations will take place from May 15 to May 17.
The Board of Governors will meet on May 15 and there will be a note of sadness that the last surviving founder Governor Rev Rae Trew died in April this year and could not celebrate the wonderful achievement in which he played a major role in creating.
The Chairperson of the board is Debbie Davidson; the daughter of the late Rev Trew, and among the governors is another founder governor’s daughter, Sylvia Jones whose father was the Rev Dr John Jonsson, who died in 2011.
Also serving on the board is former chairperson Vic Winterbach, Life-Governor Monty Campbell and Dr Alan Staples former chief executive of the school.
On Thursday evening May 16, there will be the gala performance of the College’s annual drama production, which is directed and produce by the school’s Head of Dramatic Art Clare Botha.
This year the production is a delightful farce entitled “Chaos at the Cannery”, which is set in the Wild West and all the characters have names which are descriptive of their personalities.
The jubilee adventure
journey
Friday May 16, is the day of action, which epitomises Treverton’s emphasis on Outdoor Education as part of its holistic approach to childhood development.
The Jubilee Adventure Journey will show-case the “special and different” aspects of Treverton Schools. This trip will take place through the KwaZulu – Natal Midlands, with the involvement of all pupils from Grade 000 to Post Matric together with all the staff.
The total distance travelled on this journey will be about 300 km. Divided into a journey of 18-legs, commencing at the Weir at Tai Yuen Textiles, it will cover areas, including Highmoor, Giants Castle Rest Camp, Moor Park, Wagendrift Dam, Helen Bridge and the College’s cross-country course on the Durham’s River Path.
There will also be river studies conducted by the school’s environmental officer Janet Snow.
The whole route will be using only non – motorised transport, including horseback, mountain biking, sailing, paddling, swimming, running, abseiling, rock climbing, hiking and walking. Staff members will accompany the groups.
Different age groups have been assigned different legs of the route, which have been designed as age appropriate and achievable for them.
Staff members who participate in many of the outdoor activities that the school offers have contributed to the programme, which was initially spearheaded by the Post Matric Director Athol Davies.
The event will start at 8am, and completion will be at 4pm, at the College Sports Pavilion, when the specially designed scrolls carried by Prep and College learners will be handed over to the Executive Head Noel Coetzee, who in turn will present them to the Chairperson of the Board at the Founders Day Service on the following Day.
A blast from the past
After this ceremony, the fun begins! The former headmasters of the Prep Jeff Fetting and the College Alan Staples will entertain those present with stories from their days at Treverton. Both men started their careers as young teachers in the seventies, and as heads of the respective schools remained at Treverton into the 21st century.
In the past, these accounts have always received tremendous ovations from those present, amidst the mirth resulting from many of the amusing accounts from the past. This will be followed by a braai for everyone, and will be appreciated by all those who took an active part in the Adventure Journey.
Jubilee service
The Jubilee celebrations will culminate on the Saturday (May 17) with the 50th Founders Day service in the auditorium/chapel of the College’s Alan Staples Centre, which will commence at 8.30am.
The guest speakers will be former Prep Headmaster Jeff Fetting and Old Trevertonian Andrew Dunn.
After the service, guests will assemble on the spacious lawns overlooking the College Sports Fields for refreshments.
There will also be a morning of sport for the guests when Treverton plays Howick High School in a series of rugby and hockey matches.
Treverton Preparatory School for boys opened at the beginning of 1964, it expanded into the high school or College, and the first matric exams were written in 1970. Co-education was introduced by the beginning of the eighties and a Post Matric Course in 1986.
The school also caters for a large day scholar component.
The Founder Governors were all men of the Baptist denomination, creating the foundation for the schools’ Baptist affinities.
The Treverton mission is: “To provide a balanced all-round quality education based on a strong Christian foundation.”
A history of the schools’ half-century entitled “Beyond Expectations” will be published later this year.
Old Trevertonians
The school also has an Old Scholars Association. The committee has been active in contacting Old Trevertonians and have arranged a 50th anniversary celebration in Mooi River Town Hall on the Friday evening. On Saturday afternoon, the Old Trevertonians Association will hold their AGM.
