‘The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing but rising every time we fall’ – Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, or Madiba, as he was affectionately known, was an activist, a political prisoner, South Africa’s first democratically elected president, an international peacemaker and a statesman.  Mandela was known and respected all over the world as a symbol of the struggle against apartheid and all forms of racism; the icon and the hero of African liberation.  He was a symbol of global peacemaking and received the Nobel Peace Prize.  Hence the opportunity to explore ‘lessons from Madiba’ earlier this month at the 22nd International Boys’ School Coalition Conference was truly a privilege. Head of Kelynack and Johnstone Houses, Mr Alex Pyne and Mr Jon Mountain presented their own paper and joined myself and 646 other delegates from 128 schools within 11 countries in Cape Town, South Africa.

Over four days, many stirring themes prevailed.  Judge Edwin Cameron, a high court judge appointed by Mandela advocated that it is ‘vital to give our next generation a sense of agency and possibility’ and Dr Wilhelm Verwoerd, grandson of a former Afrikaner PM, reinforced this theme.  Verwoerd chose to take a different path from his grandfather and noted that conflict resolution in South Africa was about bringing together people who didn’t necessarily have the answers but who had a commitment to listen.  Verwoerd believed that men like Mandela and Tutu embody what Africans call ‘Ubuntu’ meaning humanity; where at a human level people must take risks to open relationships and commit to a new level of humanisation. Verwoerd argued ‘We carry our knowledge through our blood’ and in order to change and advance, people need to drop anger and take risks to re-humanise and be honest because ‘pain not transformed is transmitted’.  Verwoerd believed the challenge of education is to find risk accommodating spaces for our boys.  More than teaching intellectual education, we must create spaces for empathy and understanding in our classes.  He urged we must find ways to guide boys to cultivate compassion and understanding, to humanise relationships of difference.  Ultimately, he advocated we need to respect the ‘shyness of the soul’. Verwoerd’s address was truly inspiring and made a profound impact.

The IBSC now numbers almost three hundred member schools and the opportunity to focus and reflect on issues specific to boys’ education was invaluable. I thank the Headmaster and Council for this special opportunity and hope the College will continue to contribute to this important professional body in years to come.  As Archbishop Desmond Tutu concluded ‘In a world of finite resources there are still infinite possibilities’. At Newington we must continue the task that Tutu advocated, nurturing our young ‘to dream and not be bound by limitations’!  I feel most confident that Newington is working towards the challenges of a changing world. In fide scientiam.

Dr Andrew Hirst
Head of Stanmore / Deputy Headmaster