Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we approach the mid-way point of the term, I hope this newsletter finds you well. As you will be conscious,
through our social media posts, the celebrations of our Platinum (70 Year) Jubilee has started in earnest and we
were able to kick start the year, on Monday 3rd February, with a Foundation Service in the Chapel. This was
followed by a formal dinner attended by pupils and staff. Mr Jamie Lamb, Mr Peter Hewlett, Mr Paul Hill, and
Mr Peter Newby Varty, pioneer pupils of 1955, joined us for the Chapel Service and Dinner. I write this letter
having had the opportunity of travelling to Cape Town to attend two Petrean events. The first was an evening
function attended by a wide cross-section of Petreans including one of our pioneer pupils, Mr Bevan Gane. At
the other end of the scale were the younger generation who left school within the last five years. This function
offered the Cape Town branch a real opportunity to celebrate the foundation of the school in 1955. The second
function was a smaller more personal function in which Petreans, who left the school before 1975, were able
come together and share some fascinating and colourful stories of their own school journeys over lunch. In both
of these events one was reminded of the richness of our school history and how so many of our traditions evolved
out of the inspiration and hard work of our pioneer pupils. Thanks to Thoko Malaba and her Cape Town team
for their efforts in bringing together the Petrean community on the southern tip of Africa.
As the term has unfolded we have continued to reflect, audit, and interrogate our 2024 public examination
results. We have also completed an extensive benchmarking process by subject, as well as making use of
comparative analysis. Our findings indicate that the AS/A Level results stack up incredibly well and that our
candidates did well in the main. Our view, as a consequence, is that moving into the future we would like to see
a continued upward shift in top grades. Hopefully this will be realised in the 2025 examination cycle. Our 2024
leavers did well and can feel justifiably pleased with their results. At IGCSE we found that, at an individual
subject level, we performed well, and in many cases were well placed against other schools. Nevertheless, at
PHB, we were also able to identify some areas of concern. Obviously, we are committed to providing a
challenging and stimulating educational environment and, in this regard, we have identified a number of
strategies whereby we can, collectively, effect change. As parents you can support us in our endeavours to create
a positive academic environment. I would like to draw your attention to the following:
- Consistent Learning:
It is crucial that pupils are in class and that they are fully engaged in the learning process. To this end, I
appeal to you to respect term dates. Early departures are disruptive and, as a consequence, invaluable
academic time is lost. Please routine medical appointments, and the like, be made outside school hours.
Similarly, term dates are published well in advance; please can you plan around those dates. We, for are
part, have, in many ways, ring-fenced academic contact time, which is crucial for academic success.
Peterhouse Group of Schools : Private Bag 3741, Marondera, Zimbabwe: www.peterhousegroup.co.zw
[email protected] +263 (0) 65-2324951/2/3, 2322200/1/2/3, (0)772-136470/1 - Building Academic “Habit”:
For success to be realised “academic habit” needs to be built and to this end we are going to expect more
from pupils. There will be greater classroom rigour and our classroom expectations will demand greater
levels of academic engagement from pupils. The school will apply interventions where appropriate and
this may well include pupils being required to work outside “normal” school academic time. For
example, should a pupil be on academic detention over a weekend he will forfeit any “floating weekend”
privilege. Building the “academic habit” will demand pupils take on greater ownership and more
responsibility for their academic well-being. - Academic Departments:
All our academic Departments have been fully audited and we appreciate that our academic strength is
built on a solid and accountable classroom foundation. We will continue to build a positive, supportive,
and engaging classroom experience where pupils will be challenged but, equally, supported in fulfilling
their academic potential.
As we move into the second half of term, we start to see shifts in our co-curricular programme. There is a gradual
shift towards winter sports. I suspect there will be an expectation from coaches that pupils return to school with
their winter sports gear. Whilst on the topic of uniform, the school continues to struggle with the amount of “lost
property” that is collected daily around the school. Please can you ensure all your children’s clothing is marked
and that he/she is constantly reminded of the importance of not leaving it lying around. The school is seriously
considering introducing a fines system for possessions which are thoughtlessly left lying around the school
campus.
Following my time in Cape Town, I close with three items from one of Fred Snell’s first circulars to new parents: - Unmarked clothes: These are an endemic nuisance. Boys claiming improperly marked articles pay a
fine, and any such articles remaining after the end of term are liable to be sold, the proceeds going to the
Rector’s Discretionary Fund. - Hitch-hiking: This is strictly forbidden.
- Holiday Dress: The boys are told that they should wear school uniform in the holiday on all formal
occasions.
My sincere thanks to Bevan Gane for “donating” this letter, which went out to his parents some time during his
time at Peterhouse (1955 – 1961).
It has been a sound start to the year and I am encouraged by the manner in which we have settled into routines.
We look forward to building on this momentum understanding that we have a good number of pupils travelling
away for sport in the Easter holiday. Rowing travel to Pretoria next week for the SA Rowing Champs. Both the
PHB and PHG hockey teams are in Cape Town at the end of March. Rugby, both senior and junior teams will
be in KwaZulu Natal for festivals at Kearsney and Michaelhouse. We will also be playing Michaelhouse as a
separate fixture on 26 April. All three senior winter sporting disciplines, Rugby, Hockey, and Soccer will be at
the St John’s Festival at the end of the holidays. Please find attached an advert for a Canoe Trip happening from
2 to 8 April – please contact Mrs P Raynor on [email protected] if you would like your child to attend.
With warm regards,
Jon Trafford
Rector
