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THE MICHAELHOUSE SCHOOL

THE MICHAELHOUSE:  Quis ut Deus translates to 'Who like God?' is the school motto. This motto is derived from the name of the school whose origin stems from the Hebrew Mikha'el which translates to the same.

"Boys today, men of principles tomorrow"

 In 1896 in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa James Cameron Todd, an Anglican canon shared a vision for a school.

He wrote: "A man's tone, moral and spiritual, as well as intellectual, is largely determined for life by his school." And so he founded the school!

This is a school famed for its academic, sporting, cultural, spiritual, environmental, character and leadership programmes.

A feeling of the School

Michaelhouse believes that going to senior school is as much about finding one’s niche in life as having the freedom and encouragement to explore it and to become the best one can be.

 A walk through their avenues of trees, over  playing fields and enter into the heart of the school, you find a red-brick quadrangles, you may hear the sounds of the chapel bells, the choir singing, footsteps of generations of young men and the laughter of friends. You will discover a strong community spirit where Masters and Boys meet to create an environment of vision, warmth, caring and excellence.

MICHAELHOUSE: Is an art school. They believe that creating opportunities to develop the imagination, experimenting with ideas, and experiencing the joy of creative expression are fundamental to the intellectual development of a Michaelhouse boy.

Cultural extension is actively encouraged through the vibrant programmes offered in Music, Visual Arts and Dramatic Arts with outstanding facilities supporting each faculty.

Music School: The Music School offers nine individual practice rooms. It also has a recording studio and uses technology extensively. There is a strong focus on performance in the Music Department with at least one-fifth of the school actively involved in music. Students who do not elect Music as a formal subject are welcome to join one of the available bands where instrumentalists are exposed to sight-reading techniques, improvisation, and performance. Instruments taught are piano, guitar, trumpet, trombone, French horn, clarinet, flute, drums, saxophone, and violin. Voice training is also offered          

SCHOOL FACILITIES

The Michaelhouse Nature Reserve: The School has a hill overlooking it, it is one of the rarer biomes in South Africa (Midlands mistbelt grassland) and is the preferred habitat for an indigenous antelope, the Oribi.

Boarding Houses: The school has to boarding houses as highlighted below

  • Founders (1928)
  • East (1928)
  • West (1928)
  • Farfield (1928)
  • Tatham (1935)
  • Pascoe (1940)
  • Baines (1956)
  • Mackenzie (1995)
  • Ralfe (2020)
  • McCormick (2020)

Each boarding house houses about 70 boys in dormitories of four to twelve for the younger boys and in double and single rooms for the senior boys.

The boys share two dining halls (one for senior boys and one for juniors) for their meals and are supplied by a kitchen, with an on-site bakery and butchery.

The Chapel: This was founded in the early 1990s. It has a bell-tower, installed in the 1950s with a carillon of eight bells. 

The Schlesinger Theatre: The school has a 550-seat theatre that was built and completed in 1976. 

The Indoor Centre: This is used for basketball and cricket and has three courts that can be used simultaneously as well as 4 indoor turf cricket nets, whilst during winter it is used for indoor hockey. The centre also features a cafeteria/restaurant which is available to the pupils as well as the public, and accommodation for visiting teams to stay overnight.

The library: This is stocked with over 16,000 books and has an adjoining 50 seat lecture theatre. 

The laboratories: There are four Science laboratories, three Biology laboratories and four computer centres. 

Others: The school has a sanatorium and laundry service

THE FIELDS There are 11 playing fields:

  • Willows - named after the Willow trees that stand along its length.
  • Vlei - an Afrikaans name meaning marsh or bog. This is because of the field's affinity for flooding during heavy rains.
  • Meadows - used as the main rugby field.
  • Far Meadows - adjacent to Meadows
  • Holleys
  • Tarpeys - grew millet during World War II to feed the school.
  • Baileys - the former main rugby field. Moved to Meadows when seating the hundreds of fans on its small banks became a problem
  • Aitkens Astroturf - formerly a grass pitch, the astroturf was completed in 2001.
  • Punchbowl Astroturf -It was a junior cricket oval, the new astroturf was completed in 2019.
  • Hannahs - a senior cricket oval.
  • Roy Gathorne Oval - the first team's cricket oval.

Other Sporting Facilities: Six turf cricket pitches, two artificial astroturf hockey surfaces, a heated swimming pool (12 lanes by 25 meters), a heated water polo pool, eight tennis courts, a weight training facility, a six court squash complex, a golf driving range with artificial putting green, an indoor sports centre (used primarily for basketball and indoor hockey - the facility also houses four artificial surface indoor cricket practice nets) and a dam for canoeing.

FEE STRUCTURE: Fees and levies are invoiced in ten equal installments commencing December to September. Debit orders are a prerequisite.

THE YEAR 2020
  • Non-refundable registration fee: Kes.6400
  • Annual Board and Tuition E to A Block: Kes. 2M
  • Voluntary Development Levy: Kes. 37000
  • Debtors Admin Fee: Kes. 28000 (For SA residents not paying by debit order) and (For Non-SA residents that do not pay fees in advance)
  • Non-refundable acceptance fee: RSA resident: es. 250,000 for 2021 (half a term’s fee)Non-resident: Kes. 510,000 for 2021 (full term’s fee)
  • Non-SA resident refundable deposit: Kes. 510,000
What do you think of the school?

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