“That is a good school!” I often hear that about our school or in conversation about other schools. It is often based on no facts and can be attributed to what the person heard from others.
How do we judge a school? Is it purely because it has been in existence for a very long time or because it had a 100% pass rate in the National Senior Certificate Examinations? Some schools even become a “good” school when they have a good Rugby side! Never mind that the rest is below par but as long as they keep on winning on the sports field. Some schools have improved in many areas but because they are not winning on those same sports fields, they all of a sudden are labelled as “not up to scratch” anymore, as I have heard before about our school and many others. All of a sudden I hear a lot of good comments about DHS and they are mainly based on the good performance of our 1st XV side. We have made major strides in many areas, like the new infrastructural developments and other improvements, yet what now makes us a good school now again is mainly based on the sports results.
I want to assure you that DHS is one of the top State schools in SA and one of the major reasons for that is, despite the challenges we had to go through, we have maintained our standards and in many areas improved on them over the last few years. We are a South African school for South Africa that is producing leaders who understand the complexities of our nation. In that regard, we are way ahead of the rest.
We also have a number of Old Boys who understand that we have evolved as a school and who are enthusiastically supporting us both financially and in other ways. We are very grateful to them, especially when they constantly have to hear how bad government education is and all their friends and family have children in private schools.
There will always be a place for schools like ours where ordinary citizens can become great.
L M Erasmus
14th Head Master
