Cross of Gold - Chapter Seven

Page 120 - 143

 

The Longest Innings - G D DODS (1966 - 1983)

 

The post of headmaster was advertised in South Africa, Rhodesia, and overseas, as soon after Canon Peacock's resignation as possible. On 26 March 1965 the executive committee of the governing council reported that 22 applications had been received, but that none had been considered suitable. Mr D Cleak had meanwhile been appointed acting headmaster. One of the applications for the vacant post had been sent in by Cleak; however, as so often happens, the understudy did not get the leading role. The stated reason was that he was too old for it.

 

During September 1965, the post was readvertised and 11 more applications were received, including seven from the United Kingdom. In Grahamstown, the 41 year-old head of the geography department of St Andrew's College had not seen the earlier advertisement, but when he saw this one he hastily sent in his application. The committee's search was over. On 26 October the governing council announced that Mr CD Dods had been appointed to the headmastership of St George's Grammar School with effect from 1 January 1966.

 

Born in Port Elizabeth, Graham Douglas Dods was educated at Pearson High School, and studied at Rhodes University where he obtained a first-class honours degree in geography (later converted to MSc), with mathematics as his other major. He was a fine sportsman, having played cricket for Grahamstown, and he had captained the Eastern Province hockey side for eight years. He had a five-year-old son and a three-year- old daughter, and his wife, Priscilla (known to all as 'Midge'), had given birth to a second daughter just before his appointment to St George's.

 

Dods's letter of appointment written by the chairman of the board, Dean King, stated that his salary would be R4 400 per annum, 'subject to review each year'. He would receive an entertainment allowance of RIO per month plus the entrance fee and annual subscription of either the City or the Civil Service Club. He would receive free accommodation in a house valued at R720 per annum. His retiring age would be 60 'subject to a right of discretion for you to remain longer by mutual agreement'. Item 10 of the conditions of service is interesting in the light of later happenings: 'Duties: You will be in full control of staff and pupils, and of the administration of the school and boarding house, answerable only to the council of governors or its executive committee. This means that all staff appointments are at your discretion, subject only to the grades of remuneration being fixed in consultation with the council of governors or its executive committee.

 

As soon as he arrived at St George's, Dods found himself immersed in the controversy concerning admission of 'coloured' pupils to the school. We have already described the 'Thomas affair' with which Canon Peacock had been involved shortly before his departure from the school. This application was for the entry of Neil Thomas to the school in 1966. In January 1965 - during Mr Cleak's acting headmastership - another application of this sort had been received - from the Rev John Peter Hess for the immediate admission of his son, John Hess, to the school. It was this application which brought to a head the earlier matter of the admission of Neil Thomas.

 

The board of governors was split down the middle over the admission of John Hess. The minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 1965 reveal that the following motion was put by Mr Carter: 'That ... prepared to accept the application of John Hess, a coloured pupil, we apply to government for a permit for him to enter the school.' General Theron had seconded the motion which was put to the vote and defeated by eight votes to seven. For several years after this, I less' application was repeatedly refused. We shall be returning to this subject later in this chapter.

 

Headmasters do not always see eye to eye with chairmen, particularly when one or both of them are men of strong personality. It seems that the first meeting that Graham Dods had with Dean King was characterised by some initial lack of understanding and sympathy between them. The impression which Dods received, rightly or wrongly, was that the Dean did not have any real interest in the school. Dods writes: 'The only real link that there was with the cathedral was through the choir and this held firm. However, the Dean and I were always on very cordial terms.'

 

A recent interview which the author had with Dean King provides an inkling of the other side of the story. When questioned on the chairman's role in a general context, i.e. not specifically referring to the Dods era, the Dean admitted that he had found it to be a most difficult and time-consuming duty. Possibly many clergymen who find themselves chairmen of church schools have similar feelings; it is an extra task that is wished on them and has little connection with their normal vocation. Only a small proportion of priests are also educationists. And many of them have little interest in practical matters to do with the upkeep of buildings. By nature and calling they are interested in people rather than things. It seems strange that whereas a 'chairperson' is usually elected by the members of the committee which he or she will have to lead, in the case of boards of management of Anglican schools he or she can be appointed simply by virtue of Diocesan custom or constitutional ruling.

 

The first meeting which the chairman and the board had with Dods was held on 11 January 1966. At this it was reported that the classrooms for the new junior school at Bloemendal would soon be ready for occupation. As it turned out, another six months were to elapse before they were finally completed.

 

The executive committee of the board met on 15 February. Dods was immediately pitchforked into the hot issue of the possible sale of the city property and the removal of the entire school to a different location. Some background to this matter is needed here. In 1963 a representative of the parliamentary committee had called on Canon Peacock to enquire whether the government could buy the St George's city building for use as a parliamentary library. In discussion with the Department of Public Works, the board had offered to consider either an exchange of a suitable site, or a fair price to enable the school to be established elsewhere. Then, on 15 June 1964, the PWD asked the school to consider the sale of the premises so that they could be used for extensions to the South African Library. The board pointed out that the title deed stipulated that the property always be used for educational purposes. Despite this, the PWD pursued the question. In November 1965, this department enquired what the price would be if the school were to be sold, and this was the letter which the executive committee met to discuss in February 1966.

 

The members of the committee realised at once that, for a new boy, Dods was very well informed on the matters under discussion. He pointed out that the school in its proposed reply had not emphasized the fact that if the city property were to be sold to the government, the school was entitled to State assistance in procuring a new site of 30 acres or in compensation for the Avenue site.

 

This naturally led to a discussion on the merits and demerits of accommodating both senior and junior schools together on the same site. Dods said that the life of the school was being strangled by the present division between the Cape Town school and Bloemendal which resulted in a serious waste of time because of all this travelling. (And waste of money?) He said it was essential that the school should move to a new area such as the Trovato Estate in the Wynberg/ Constantia district. It was decided to approach the Chamber of Mines for assistance in establishing the school in a new area. The committee's reply to the PWD was that if the school city property were to be sold, the price would be R1 107 000.

 

Before the half-year, Dods, with Mr Pinchin and Mr Mouat, visited the Trovato and Sweet Valley estates. The price of the former was reported as being 'reasonable'. Dods was keen, but the executive committee poured cold water on the scheme. The reason given was that the land 'sloped too much'.

 

Meanwhile, the builder of the new junior school at Bloemendal was seriously behind in the completion of the contract and agreed to reduce the price by R2 000. The classrooms had, however, been in use for some months.

 

On 13 August 1966, the new classrooms were blessed by His Grace the Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Rev R Selby Taylor, and the new school hall was officially opened by him. It was Dods who had recommended that the hall be named ‘The William Gore Hall’, and this honorary life governor and devoted friend of the school was the main speaker at the ceremony.

 

In dedicating the new school, the Archbishop said: 'May it always stand for what is true and noble, just and lovely. May the spirit of the living God illuminate the minds of those who direct its use. the May peace of Cod make it a happy place.'

 

Further steps towards consolidating Bloemendal as the future site of the whole school were taken towards the end of Dods' first year. A nearby property, 25 Richmond Road, came up for sale, and the board saw that here was a golden opportunity to acquire badly needed buildings and ground for the school.

 

The outcome was that in January 1967 the property was bought for RIO 600 with a bond of R7 950 from the Allied Building Society. Then, in March of the same year 'Jenlyn' - 2 Montreal Avenue - was purchased for R8 600.

 

In September 1967, the board realised that the executive committee was too unwieldy to handle satisfactorily all the many different kinds of business during its normal meetings. It was decided, therefore, to form subcommittees: finance, property and equipment, staff, pupils' accounts, and scholarships. It must have been a relief to the Dean that from now on he would not have to take part in discussions such as whether a tin of paint should be bought or not.

 

At one of the first meetings of the finance sub-committee it was decided to ask the board of governors to approve an increase in fees of twenty percent, which it did with effect from the third term 1968, so the parents had some fair warning of the heavier demands on their purses which were looming. While all this business was being conducted, the school began to move ahead under Graham Dods' energetic leadership, and the enrolment reached a peak 309 during 1967. A quarter of a century later Mr Dods wrote about his strivings in the following terms:

 

Once I had got the feel of the school, I realised that my most important objective was to raise both academic and games standards. (Little did I realise that the most challenging and satisfying objective would be my attempt to integrate the school as a multiracial society.) I don 't think that I achieved quite the objective of raising the standard of games. However, there followed a number of years in which we toured extensively rugby teams from the senior school to the Eastern Cape, Transvaal and OFS, and with a considerable degree of success; and cricket, rugby, and chess teams to Natal and Eastern Cape from the prep school, also with a great degree of success ... On a personal note I often lay in my bath counting the bruises incurred by encouraging boys to tackle me in an effort to get them to tackle at all! ... By contrast, I believe that the academic standard was raised to a height that it had never before or since reached ... Our best period of games activity was when we had John Heather as senior master of the prep school and John Beaufort - now deceased - as vice-principal of the senior school. These two men did a magnificent job of raising the standard of games to a decent level ... The three of us met regularly, at least once a week, and established a working policy for the school. Apart from being excellent games coaches, they were outstanding housemasters and administrators, and they set a standard which was not again even remotely approached in my time. They were both close to the staff and extremely loyal so that I was always informed on staff opinions and needs.

 

Like Peacock, Dods believed that boys should have copious extra-mural activities available; characteristically, he flung himself heart and soul into these:

 

My interest in woodwork served me in good stead ... I started woodwork classes in the basement of the prep school and many useful articles now adorn the homes of many parents. For my own part, I was allowed by the board of governors to use the thick teak planks which were part of the science benches, and products of this can be found in the armchairs which are used at governors' meetings.

 

Dods also found time to panel the Bloemendal dining room, build the partitions for the cubicles in the dormitories, make the desks and bookcases for the studies, and glass-in the verandah of the junior school. No doubt many of the frustrations and pressures resulting from the headmaster's job were dissipated in the clean sawdust and healthy sweat of this labour.

 

He continues:

 

Friday afternoons were taken up by 'cultural' or 'enrichment' activities. All boys had to choose from music appreciation, chess, bridge, computer club, careers, first aid, and so on, but they had to rotate and could not spend more than one term on any one. For people who achieved an all-round excellence there was the Dragon Club Tie award in the senior school, and this we called the Griffin Tie in the prep school. Of course, we did extremely well at things like eisteddfods and our plays in both prep and senior schools were of a high standard. We also regularly won debating and quiz contests against the best opposition that Cape Town could provide, and for many years our Latin declamation was tops ... But I do not think we neglected the academic side of the school as our matric results showed, and in particular we were vet)" proud of our achievements in the mathematics and science olympiads.

 

At the end of Dods' first year there occurred the sort of incident which pupils remember with relish and headmasters with disgust. OG Graham Baragwanath (1960 - 1966) - who was deputy head boy in his final year and later became a member of the board of governors - writes:

 

 

 

One memorable event was on our last day of school prior to writing matric. We were having a final service in the cathedral accompanied as usual by Barry Smith on the organ. One of our number had secreted himself in the crypt, and during a thunderous rendition of the Trumpet Voluntary he switched the organ off - a cathedral organ switched off in full flight is quite a sound. Barry Smith, with great aplomb, looked down from the organ loft and s/louted: 'Either the organ has been switched off or it's given up the holy ghost!'

 

It is only fair to Barry Smith to mention that another member of that 'Class of 1966', Michael Martin (1961-1966), in describing the same incident, says he simply called: '...or it's given up the ghost'. The story probably gained the adjective in re-telling. In any event, Graham Baragwanath continues:

 

...End of service! Graham Dods was needless to say not amused and demanded the whole class leave the school immediately (9 a.m.) - so ended our school career ...

 

When he read the above words, Mr Dods said that, in fact, his action had in part been prompted by the indignation and wrath of Barry Smith himself.

 

To put the affair in perspective, it should be borne in mind that any sensible teacher — or headmaster will take care to react severely to misbehaviour early on in his or her career at a given school. The author recalls that this was how Philip Cuckow started at St George's. The last day of a school year and even more so the last day of the matrics' school career, is an especially tempting time for 'pranksters'. Any punishment meted out by a headmaster in cases like this must be in the nature of a deterrent to others.

 

A last word on this matter: given that the organ had been sabotaged at least once before this, it seems incredible that the school/cathedral authorities had not by this time made it impossible for potential saboteurs to gain access to the organ's blower room.

 

While we are on the subject of Barry Smith and the cathedral organ, OG Noel Percival (1964 - 1968) sends the following anecdote:

 

We had a few pigeons in the cathedral, and seemingly one met its end down ono of the larger organ pipes. The day came for a blasting rendition of Bach 's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. One note was awfully muffled so die organist pat on full pressure, and, lo and behold, one half-stripped bird and many feathers floated down on to the St Cyprian 's annual service.

 

OG Robert Aspin (1976 - 1983) says: 'Mr Dods was good at saving up for the squash courts, but every year as he saved more, inflation went up as well. We had to run a lot of (sponsored) marathons!' To this Dods adds chat one of the most ambitious of the marathons was the one from Langebaan to Blouberg. Classes made up their own teams of ten runners, each of whom had to do five kilometres in the morning, followed by lunch, then another five kilometres in the afternoon. Times were kept and the winning tearns received fabulous prizes. Parents, staff, and Old Georgians all entered teams. After the presentations there was a huge braai behind the prep school. Later, this route became too dangerous, and the runs were held either in the Newlands Forest or along the Table Mountain Drive.

 

Dods writes:

 

The St George's staff was always keen on sport and we played against the 1st teams at cricket, hockey, tennis, soccer, and even rugby (with the help of some of the 2nd XV). During this period a grand cricket club was formed, the Georgian Gents. Its members were drawn from boys, Old Boys, staff and parents, and we played against teams with similar ideals. One great event was the lour to Oranjemund in the school bus. Jenny Mallett, the only one with the necessary driving licence, drove all the way there and back. On the way there we placed bets on the lime of arrival. Jenny, as driver, made good use of her advantage and scooped the kitty. She used it to buy a round of drinks.

 

He continues:

 

Throughout my time at St George's, I was extremely lucky to have the support of a wonderful parents association. Not only were they constantly on fund-raising efforts but they helped in many other ways. There was scarcely a Sunday went by without a group of boys being led up some mountain or other by one or more fathers, and often my wife and children would be with me as we accompanied them. I well remember three horrendous days of rain, sleet, snow, hail and bitterly cold winds as we trudged the Boland Trail with a party of boys led by one of the fathers. We were exhausted when we finally landed at the end to find the school bus laden with all sorts of nourishing goodies brought by Jenny Mallett and Peter Doherty.

 

Jeremy Opperman (1974 - 1982) remembers Graham Dods as a brilliant man. Simon Fielding (1979 - 1983) says that he was an outstanding maths teacher; and Michael Oxley (1972 - 1979) calls him 'a maths fundi'. But these three men also remember very well Dods's sarcastic turn of phrase, as do many other Old Georgians. For example, Brett Tilley (1972 - 1975) writes: 'Sarcasm was Graham Dods's greatest weapon!' The opinion has been expressed that, while Dods was an excellent headmaster with many strengths, he was not a 'people person'. OG Nigel Pfister (1972 - 1977, head of school) believes that 'Dods taught too much', and did not leave himself enough real time to run the school. Pfister got on well with Dods, but felt that the headmaster related better to Standard 7 and younger pupils; Dods apparently thought that Standards 9 and 10 were old enough to look after themselves.

 

Dods commented: 'There was no way the school could afford an extra teacher to do the work I was doing. But my administrative duties were made much easier at different times by two really marvellous secretaries, Vivienne Hansen and Lilian de Villiers.' On his relating to senior pupils, he wrote: 'I must have improved by 1983 because that year's matric class took the trouble to send me, in 1984, a birthday card after I had left the school.'

 

Just as some of Winston Churchill's teachers were never allowed to forget the disparaging remarks which they had written in his school reports, so one of Graham Dods' pupils is happy to have proved him wrong: OG Martin Plaut (1960 - 1966) writes: 'Mr Dods told me I played a good game of rugby, but should forget matric. I left and went to Cape Town High, where I got a first-class matric.' (Martin went on to achieve a BA, BA Hons, and MA.)

 

Dods comments that he recalls Plaut being an intelligent boy and that his remark was probably to the effect that unless he got on with some work he could forget matric.

 

OG Stuart Shaw (1964 - 1969) recalls that Dods' nickname was 'Kees'. His nickname when he was at St Andrew's College was 'Apie', which became 'A.R.P.'. Mr CJ 'Jonty' Driver, now head of Wellington College, Berkshire, England, who had Dods as his housemaster at St Andrew's, told the author that he seemed to recall that Dods even signed himself 'A.R.P. Dods' at times. Mr Driver remembers Dods as a 'marvellous schoolmaster ... a very balanced, humane and humorous man'. He says he still makes use of things Dods taught him as a schoolboy, though he was never in Dods' class.

 

Stuart Shaw also remembers the headmaster's namesake, Guy Dodds, from New Zealand, who taught him and several others enough maths and science to make the grade in our matric year'.

 

There were, indeed, some fine teachers at St George's during Dods' era. OG Jeremy de Beer (1971 - 1979) writes:

 

Mr Victor Paine and Mr Peter Doherty both left a proud heritage that does honour to St George's Grammar School ... Mr Paine was a true academic whose eccentricities and extroverted character were appreciated by most pupils and parents alike. Although he was occasionally the subject of some unkind … mimicry, his character was such that he did not allow this to upset him … His enthusiasm and energy were boundless ... Favourite memories include watching 'Vicki' participating in the annual Staff/Old Boys v 1st XI cricket match - his strong belief in the efficacy of his gentle 'medium paced' deliveries always gave rise to much mirth and by-play ... Perhaps 'Vicki' was the sort of teacher who was only fully appreciated by his pupils once they had left the safe confines of school ... It was only then that one truly appreciated the stature of the man and his genuine attempts to make the schooling process a truly rewarding, enjoyable, and enlightening experience ... . His sudden death came as a deep shock to me ... he was a person who could have contributed much more to the school... '

 

Nigel Pfister says that he was a most fantastic person, teacher, and friend.

 

Victor Paine passed away suddenly in April 1982. Some years later Graham Dods wrote this tribute for The Georgian:

 

While it is not easy to recognise what makes any particular man what he is, in the case of Victor Paine it is very simple indeed, because there were three great loves in his life. First, there was the love of Victor Paine as head of a very closely-knit family, the sheer solid stability of which was an impressive inspiration in an age where so often the opposite is the case.

 

The affection and gratitude which he showed to his parents made it obvious what they meant to him. Moreover Victor was quite clear that wherever it was possible he and Annette and their two sons would do things together as a family. Sometimes this resulted in a conflict with his role as teacher ... The second control in Victor's life was the intense and passionate love which he had for his work. As schoolboy and schoohmaster he had been associated with St George's for well over thirty years, and in this time there had grown up a bond which became tighter and tighter. It manifested itself in complete loyalty to the school and to its headmaster, even though at times it must have been difficult 10 justify the latter.

 

He also had one of the clearest minds //lat I know ... Moreover, he was able to express his views and press his arguments lucidly and with skill. Small wonder then, that / leaned heavily on him for advice.

 

But above all, he was a compassionate schoolmaster who had a genuine love for every one of the boys who came under his care. Victor hated some of the mean things that you did; but he never ceased to love you.

 

Finally, and in control of every aspect of his life was his love for the Lord Jesus Christ. It determined every decision which he made, every word which he spoke, and every one of his actions. When Jesus was choosing his disciples, he said to them: 'Follow me. ' This was not a command. It was an invitation which could be accepted or rejected. And Victor Paine accepted it, and it was this that made it possible for him to act with courage even though he was aware of the risks involved; it was this which made him speak out even when he had something to say which was not pleasing to the listener; it was this which made him plead for yet another of the seventy chances to be given to the misdoer.

 

We have been privileged to know the Victor Paines of this world and his loved ones and we can draw comfort from the knowledge of what he was and what he did.

 

Of Peter Doherty, Jeremy de Beer writes:

 

Mr Doherty was a giant in the true sense of the word ... One could not help being influenced ... by this man from Ireland ... His enthusiasm in the classroom was legendary - his love of the poetry of Dylan Thomas was infectious, as was his mirth during class readings of Dickens' Pickwick Papers ... His near-fanatical enthusiasm on the sports-field was also well-known - particularly when coaching the 1st XV 'Doc's' extraordinary personality and powerful presence must have helped everyone who came into contact with him. Hopefully, he did attain his goal of modelling 'Christian gentlemen' out of his pupils. Regrettably, only they will know.

 

OG Brett Massimo (1969 - 1980) writes: 'Mr Peter Doherty, a fanatical Jesuit who was a magnificent teacher but strict disciplinarian. He touched the life of every boy, and introduced much lively (parliamentary) debate at school. He also gave the elocution prize and got everyone reciting poetry and Shakespeare. He produced and directed many memorable plays such as Antigone in 1977 and Witness for the Prosecution in 1980.'

 

Jayson Hill (1970 - 1981; deputy head boy) mentions several teachers but declares: 'The most impressive was Mr Doherty, history, English teacher, and 1st XV rugby coach, with whom I shared a special bond. His booming voice and red, bushy beard will never be forgotten...'

 

Simon Fielding says 'that Mr Peter Doherty was 'a brilliant teacher, a thinking man's guru’ and adds: ‘He was sorely missed when he passed away. Every boy he had taught went to Ibis funeral.’

 

While the author was discussing the staff of Dods’ era with present staff of the school who had taught under him, it was mentioned that Victor Paine was the opposite of Graham Dods in several ways (which, one supposes, is a good thing for any vice-principal to be): whereas Dods sometimes had problems in relating to people, Paine more than made up for this. But, while Dods was a model of efficiency in administration, Paine would lose mark-lists, examination papers, etc.. It was also said that Dods saw St George's as a family school, where the relationships between staff, boys, and parents could be strongly forged. Ile could seem stern and austere on occasions, but his gruff manner concealed a genuine affection for the boys. As he was totally dedicated to the school, he expected the staff to be with him at every step, but in his eagerness to get things done he was often far ahead of them. He had a hand in every activity of the school, even the upkeep of the gardens.

 

Did Dods find it difficult to 'delegate'? The following story, at least, contradicts this theory; it was told to Barry Hart by Ken Hopkins, who taught geography and economics in the senior school during the early

 

1980s and who now teaches at Wellington College, England. Ken was taking cricket practice when screams were heard from Caledonian Road; an old lady had just had her bag snatched. Ken and a squad of boys gave chase to the thief. Finally cornering him, Ken applied an arm lock to the thief, and marched him into Dods' office, announcing in his broad Welsh accent, 'Mr Dods! I've caught a bag-snatcher!' Dods looked up and said, 'See Mrs D' and carried on with his work. ('Mrs D’ was Mrs de Villiers, the secretary.)

 

One of Dods' many hobby-horses was keeping the school litter-free. It is very probable that it was Dods' influence on the pupils that brought about this paragraph in the 'The Wanderer's' column in the Cape Times of 7 March 1967 during that columnist's campaign for a tidier, litter-free Cape Town:

'Spot News: I have just seen a boy in St George's Grammar School uniform and cap pick up some builder's litter in St George's Street and throw it home behind the builder's hoarding. Well done boy! Bravo for our campaign! '

 

Dods recalls that one notable clean-up campaign was organised by the parents association. Almost every boy in the school climbed the slopes of Table Mountain and collected all rubbish in sight. When they came down, some hundreds of black rubbish bags formed a mountain of their own.

 

Meanwhile, the headmaster and the board continued to address the problem of the school's future. On 15 November 1968, the private secretary to the Minister of Public Works wrote to the school saying that the city building could possibly be used for the parliamentary library. Discussions ensued, but nobody seemed to know whether the restrictive clause in the original title deed was still valid, i.e. that should the school buildings cease to be used for educational purposes they would revert to the State. On 13 August 1969, the PWD wrote to say that the government had decided that it did not want the property for a parliamentary library anyway.

 

On 25 June 1970, a special meeting of the board was held in the offices of the Allied Building Society at which it was decided that the future policy would be to expand the facilities at Mowbray rather than seeking an alternative site for both the senior and junior schools.

 

At a meeting of the finance committee on 3 November 1970, it was agreed that 'consideration should be given to building a senior school at Mowbray'. The problem of what to do with the city building was surprisingly easily solved by deciding to turn it into a nursery school. But the whole question was shelved for a few more years.

 

In his report 1970 the headmaster said that the enrolment had dropped to 285. In the same document he underplayed another far more serious matter: he reported that the Post had carried an article alleging that the school had turned down a boy on the grounds of his being coloured. 'But,' said Dods, 'the actual situation was that we could not get an interview with the parents and we did not even know that the boy was coloured. Four months after we had abandoned the application I received a telephone call from a Post reporter repeating the allegation. I denied it.' The Sunday Times published the story under screaming headlines: ‘Head Denies that Coloured Father Interviewed Him'. The article said that Mr Colin Isaacs' son, Wayne, was refused admission 'to Cape Town's exclusive St George's Grammar School after his R4 registration fee had been accepted… This is the fifth time the Anglican church faced for many years Nationalist jibes that it preaches non-apartheid while practising apartheid in its schools - has been placed in a position of embarrassment through rejection of applications by coloured pupils ... The Dean of Cape Town, the Rev EL King, said tonight that it was untrue that Mr Isaacs had been interviewed and turned down. "I don't think this was a bona fide application. I think this might be an abortive attempt to embarrass the Anglican church. If it had been bona fide, we would certainly have considered it." ‘

 

It was at a special meeting of the board on 8 February 1971, ostensibly to discuss yet another increase in fees, that the radical idea of amalgamation with another school was first proposed. As he was to do every time this suggestion was subsequently made, Graham Dods vehemently opposed the idea. In his memoirs Dods writes: 'The board took the decision that we were no longer a viable proposition, and approaches were made to Bishops for us to be incorporated (in that school) as a house. I fought this tooth and nail.' (These approaches were presumably made during informal discussions; Mr John Gardener, former headmaster of Bishops, has informed the author that no record of them can be found in the minutes of the Bishops council.)

​

The school was going through one of the many financial crises it has experienced throughout its history, as was the whole country at the time. We were too small in numbers and had little resources for growth, the most notable lack being that of space, the difficulties of travel from one campus to the other, and the fact that our fabric, particularly the hostels, was in sore need of renovation and upgrading. There no such thing as a State subsidy at this time...

 

But Dods was not content merely to fight the proposed amalgatnation; he put forward a practieal alternative. In his report to the executive committee dated 24 April 1970, he made a formal suggestion that a fund-raising scheme be launched for the purpose of building a senior school at Mowbray. The target sum would be R140 000.

 

In June 1971, the executive committee was again discussing the question of selling the city property. It turned out that the total value of the school and the church house (the building sometimes called the cathedral hall) amounted to R1 500 000, of which the church house was worth R845 000. The headmaster suggested (again) that the city building be used as a pre-primary school, a 'feeder' school for St George's.

 

However, at a special meeting of the executive committee on 29 July 1971, the idea of buying a completely separate property for both sections of the school was raised once again. A properly at Muizenberg, 'Boy Marina', was for sale at R250 000. But, it was agreed that any thought of following this up depended on the city building being sold.

 

Meanwhile, Dods continued to pursue his idea of a fund-raising scheme to build a new senior school at Bloemendal. In his report dated 28 March 1972 he suggested that the scheme be made part of the celebrations to commemorates the school's 125 anniversary in 1973.

 

Later that year the controversy on the admission (or not) of non-white pupils to the school reared its head again. The executive committee met on 12 October 1972 to discuss the application from a coloured parent for his son to be admitted to the Sub A class. The committee were happy to defer this hot potato until the governing council meeting to take place the following day, Friday 13 1972 - an unlucky enough day for the Dean, who could not attend the meeting and did not know what was to be discussed at it anyway.

 

The minutes of this read: 'After a full discussion on the application, Mr Teek proposed that the headmaster should reply that the school governing council was unable to accept the boy. The proposal, with one abstention, was unanimous.

 

At the next meeting of the board, held in the board room at Church House, on 16 January 1973, the Dean (in the chair) stated that 'being unavoidably absent from the last meeting, he was most perturbed by the decision of council in refusing to accept the application for entry of a coloured boy. Being a church school, and in view of the expressed opinion of the Anglican church in such matters, he considered that at least the application should have been supported and forwarded to government for the necessary authority.'

 

A full discussion took place. The chairman then said 'that from the opinions expressed, it seemed pointless to request the council to reconsider its decision. As a result, he felt that he could not continue as chairman. On the matter of the school's constitution with regard to the chairmanship, he would discuss this with the Archbishop.'

 

Much later it was realised that, according to the constitution and Diocesan rules, the Dean could not resign as chairman. (He had, of course, never been elected, as such.) He would have to be given indefinite leave of absence. Mr Ken Baldwin, OG and member of the board, was elected acting chairman.

 

The school's decision and that of the Dean to resign made nationwide headlines in the press. Interviewed by the Sunday Times, Dean King said that when the school council had taken a similar decision some years ago he had issued a statement saying that he disagreed with the council's decision. He continued:

 

I have been unhappy about the situation ever since ... and I believe now that it would probably have been a lot better if I had resigned on that occasion. There is a view which is held in good faith by a number of people that to pull out is to abdicate one's responsibilities, and that one should rather stay in the situation and make one's views known. Otherwise one has no say of any kind in future decisions and one loses a platform. I feel, however, that what one feels must be balanced against the impression one creates. In spite of all the qualifications and the tangled situation I feel it is important that we on the church side should be seen to be taking a stand. It is quite clear to me that the church must increasingly make sure that its hands are clean.

 

The Dean added that there had been a shift away from the principle of working inside situations and trying to effect concessions from within, towards confronting the situations when they arise. The subsequent headline, of course, read: 'Cape Dean Advocates Confrontation'.

 

There were several letters to the papers supporting the Dean's stand.

 

When the author interviewed Dean King (now retired) on his memories of the affair, he said: 'It's ironic - if the board had accepted the application, it would have been rejected by the government anyway!'

 

The board, of course, had turned down the application on exactly the same basis, in reverse, that the Dean had taken his stand: on a matter of principle - rightly or wrongly. Presumably there could have been no question of their being hypocritical on the issue, i.e. pretending to accept the admission, knowing it would be turned down. The views of most headmasters of St George's on the admission of non-white pupils have not been officially recorded (although Dods' predecessor, Canon Peacock, repeatedly made clear his opposition to the government's apartheid laws). They had no vote anyway, which, in the context of the board's formal decisions, made their feelings on the matter somewhat irrelevant.

 

But it was characteristic of Graham Dods not to shirk uncomfortable situations where matters of principle were concerned. On 15 March 1973 he wrote a letter to the acting chairman of the board which apparently received no publicity despite, or probably because of, the unprecedented and sensational nature of its contents. The letter read:

 

On the question of the acceptance of a coloured boy by St George's Grammar School, I thought at first that the interests of the school would best be served by my remaining silent on the subject. This attitude had caused me considerable distress and heart-searching, and I feel that I must now let the council know that:

 

1. I consider that its decision was the wrong one and not in the best interests either of St George's or of a Christian school.

2. I believe that it has been wrong to maintain silence on the subject, as this has simply led to the opinion that the decision was purely a racist one.

3. I believe that the parents of the school are entitled to a full explanation as to why the council took their decision.

4. I am finding it increasingly difficult to defend a decision with which I do not agree.

 

I am sorry to have to burden you with this at a time when you are not anxious to become even more involved, but there does not seem to be any other way round it.

 

When the author recently wrote to Mr Dods asking for his recollections of his time at St George's, he sent what he called his 'random thoughts' - a very clear exposition nevertheless - apologising for their brevity on account of his commitment to his retirement job in the field of upgrading black teachers.

 

It is an ironic commentary on the sad absurdity of this affair when one records that the six-year-old boy around whom it had raged was - as stated in the father's letter of application - so fair complexioned that he was 'always mistaken for white'. In fact, the father said, this had caused the boy's 'strange attitude of not wanting to play with coloured children because they tell him he is white and must not play with them'.

 

As could be expected, the affair was reported at length by the press.

 

On 22 February 1973 the Cape Times reported: 'The Anglican Bishop Suffragan of Cape Town, the Rt Rev George Swartz, said yesterday that he hoped other Anglican members of the St George's Grammar School committee would follow the example of the Dean of Cape Town, the Very Rev EL King, by resigning. '

 

On the same day the Cape Argus reported:

'The Bishop Suffragan of Cape Town, the Rt Rev Walter Wade, has condemned the actions of St George's Grammar School Council for refusing to admit a coloured boy, and suggested that the Anglican church may have to reconsider the position of such schools as "church schools". In strongly supporting the Dean in his resignation, Bishop Wade was joined by Bishop Swartz. A few years ago St Cyprian's School decided to admit Bishop Swartz's daughter, but the government subsequently refused a permit to allow her at the school on the grounds that she was a coloured person. '

 

There were numerous letters to the newspapers on the same subject.

 

At a meeting of the council in April 1973, Mr Buckland reported that Archbishop Robert Selby Taylor would write to the Minister of Education about the possibility of accepting coloured children as day scholars. It turned out that all private schools supported this move. On 14 August 1974, his successor, Archbishop Bill Burnett, wrote to the heads of all private schools asking them to attend a meeting at Bishopscourt.

 

His letter ran:

 

I am anxious to have discussions with heads of private schools concerning recent negotiations undertaken by the former Archbishop in the hope of being granted permission to enrol coloured boys and girls. I think it is important that I should understand the mind of headmasters and headmistresses and of the councils of the schools involved. I am aware of the existence of a good deal of tension on account of past misunderstandings, and it is important, I think, that we should leave no stone unturned to enable our coloured church people to be informed adequately of the position as it now is.

 

In the end, all was satisfactorily settled, and Dods writes:

 

I think it was in 1978 that we admitted our first non-white pupil. As part of the fundraising I invited Michael O'Dowd of the Anglo-American's Chairman's Fund to visit the school. There occurred an incident which could hardly have been better orchestrated had it been planned. As we were looking over the school we stood outside the tuck-shop and two small boys emerged taking turns to lick at a sucker. The fact that one was white and the other black told the whole story. We received a substantial donation from Anglo-American!

 

Meanwhile, the sum of R90 000 had been quoted for the new senior school at Mowbray. Dods' fund-raising scheme (which Barry Hart describes as having been almost a singlehanded effort) realised the full amount.

​

The new school was finished in July 1973, and the senior school moved out to Bloemnendal in that same month.

 

The building had been erected by McCarthy Construction, who made a handsome donation of R20 000 on condition that it was named the Charlie Mouat Building in honour of that former chairman of the board of governors. His photograph was hung in the entrance foyer.

 

The local daily newspapers duly reported on the move, but it was the Cape Times which perhaps put it best. Here is its subleader written when the pending move was first announced:

 

ST GEORGE'S: The environs of St George's Cathedral and the city centre generally will never be the same again after the grammar school has moved out to Mowbray next year, 125 years after its establishment.

 

Historically the church has been t/le torchbearer of education, which is why the close physical proximity of cathedral and school has always seemed so appropriate, symbolizing perhaps the complementary though indivisible aspects - spiritual and intellectual of man's nature. Ordinary Capetonians who are not disposed to go into all that will nevertheless feel that something is missing when they walk along Government Avenue or through the Gardens without bumping into the familiar streams of boys.

 

But the move to Mowbray, where the senior and junior standards will be united, obviously had to come. For one thing the cathedral site lacks playing fields, and private schools unlike government schools near to town, cannot buy up and raze streets of houses at the taxpayers' expense to make open space around them. But believers in the diversity of education will not shed tears over the necessity of private schools to find their own fields and pay their own way, for they offer something of value which would be lost if everything were handed to them on a plate. We wish St George's 125 more years of devoted service to boys at the Mowbray school.

 

Meanwhile, the present school will be converted to the nurture of a still younger group - the nursery and pre-primary school children whose later accomplishments, so the experts tell us, are made or marred in those first years.

 

The official opening of the senior school took place on 23 November 1973. In the end it had cost R96 067. The cost of converting the old building to a pre-primary school came to R5 360. It was 1975 before the St George's pre-primary school and creche finally opened its doors. Mr Dods comments:

 

That we had managed to effect the drastic alterations and cut through red tape in getting permits, in just over a year, reflected real enthusiasm on the part of many people. At one time we even bussed certain Sub A and B pupils from Mowbray to the creche after school if both their parents worked in the city. The nursery school showed continuous growth and by the end of 1983 had an enrolment of nearly 100 little boys and girls.

 

During all this time, of course, the normal daily problems attendant on the headmaster's job took their course. Looking back on those days Graham Dods writes:

 

There was another handicap which I should mention. Although we had a good representation of Old Boys on the board of governors, there was this strange anomaly that so many of them (at one time as many as five) sent their sons to Bishops, a fact which I found very difficult to explain to parents.

 

(Exceptions which spring to mind were JAD Teek and 'Buzz' Quinn.) Allied to this was the fact that despite very real and strenuous efforts I never ever managed to get a strong Old Boys' Union established, and I think that this must rank as one of our greatest weaknesses. In my entire time at St George's I do not believe that there were ever more than ten sons of Old Boys at the school, i.e. something in the region of two to three percent at any one time.

 

It is fitting that we now move on to the year 1978 when the boar took firm decision to go non-racial and admitted its first black pupils. In an interview with the press, Graham Dods said that integration had taken place with absolutely no problems at pupil level, although there were one or two white pupils in the matric class who were 'still faintly resistant'. The only problems had come from a few white parents who had withdrawn their sons from the school, 'but that was only a dribble'.

 

We can now see that St George's was ahead of 'the authorities' in this decision. It was three years later that the De Lange Report appeared, with its implicit support for non-segregated schools. After the publication of this far-reaching document, the Sunday Tribune visited St George's and gave a whole page to the school in its issue of 11 October 1981, with bold headlines reading: School for the Colour Blind! Journalist Tony Spencer-Smith ‘… observed at first hand an island of extraordinary racial harmony in South Africa's apartheid-torn society. Boys played and laughed and whispered together in groups formed quite independently of race. The spontaneity of the interaction made it plain that, as Mr Dods said in an interview, ‘the boys were colour blind.”.’

 

The headmaster went on to say: ‘Of the 270 boys at the school … 30% are not white. Since 1978, when the first black pupils were admitted, the percentage of coloured, Indian and African pupils has risen steadily to its present highest-ever level. We will never reduce the current percentage of blacks under any circumstances, but we will hare to consider the implications the Financial Relations Amendment Bill - under which we could theoretically be declared a coloured school and find ourselves in the wrong area - carefully in relation to increasing the percentage still further.’

 

He said it was "marvellous' to see how the pupils had adjusted to the new situation and interacted together. 'They form friendships across colour lines which go way beyond school. Whites and blacks visit each other at their homes. Ire had one lovely case of a white boy in Standard 8. He really didn't have many friends. Now he's absolutely bosom pals with an Indian boy.

 

Mr Dods said the non-racial policy had increased academic standards because the pupils who were not white were 'gluttons for education '.

 

'They first work like mad to close the gap and then they really go at it. Quite a number of the top boys in the forms are not white. And the effect has been to make our white boys work harder. '

 

He said that St George's was all-round a better school now. 'Our boys are far more representative of the whole spectrum of South African society. And the pupils who are not white are introduced to a whole lot of influences - including simple things like debating and chess - which they would not have had in their own schools.’

 

Mr Dods said that in the platteland it was common for white and black youngsters to play together and 'swim kaal in the rivers'. 'But suddenly they reach an age when the white boys become boss. We have seen no sign of that happen here.

 

A week later, the Sunday Tribune published an article by author Alan Paton, in which he welcomed the disclosure that St George's Grammar School had integrated successfully. He saw the move as one of 'hope and encouragement'. Sixteen years previously, as we have seen, Mr Paton had sharply attacked the school's council for refusing to admit a prominent coloured church-warden's son in an article entitled:

'St George Deserts to the Dragon'. Now, in 1981, he said:

 

I wrote in 1965: 'The council of St George's has been caught in a trap of its own making.

 

It is faced, us Christian white South African often is faced in moments of crucial importance, with a choice between its white South Africanism and its Christianity, and it chose the first.’ Well, the council of St George’s has repented, thank God … Let us hope that white South Africa will also repent of its sins and let us hope it won’t be a death bed repentance.

 

Looking ahead a few years, Alan Paton died on 12 April 1988, At the huge thanksgiving service for his life and works held in the cathedral on 12 April, Dr Barry Smith played Alan Paton's favourite piece of organ and choral music, the Kiev Kontakion. Paton had heard this beautiful and moving work in St George's Cathedral at the funeral of Archbishop Clayton in 1957, and also at the Memorial Day services held at his sons' school, St John's College, Johannesburg.

 

It seems important to record one other decision among the many which the headmaster and the board made on the of the school during their monthly meetings in the head's study. On 29 October 1980, under the heading 'Type of school envisaged', the question was discussed as to whether the school would remain as an exclusively boys' school or would change to a co-educational school. The minutes state: ‘...although some members were open on this issue, it was felt that St George's should remain what it is now - a boys' school.'

 

Dods' relations with the governors during these years were much the same as before. Possibly he was beginning to do more and more without reference to them. Barry Hart comments: 'The governors did not mind this, as it meant that meetings were short. Dods had everything wrapped up with nothing for them to do. Ile obviously knew how long they took to get things done...'

 

In 1983, after 17 years at St George's, Dods was already the school's longest serving headmaster. He was 59, but he showed no sign of slowing down. If anything he worked harder than ever, and probably expected more than ever from his staff. From this distance it seems that the traits which made Graham Dods the utterly dedicated headmaster that he was, were beginning at last to rebound on him. It may be, too, that the swing of the pendulum in educational circles was catching up on him.

 

Some 15 years later Dods commented: ‘Was I behind the times? All the independent headmasters attended the annual meetings of the conference of heads of private schools, and on the local scene I arranged quarterly meetings of the head of SACS, Rondobosch Boys’ High, Bishops and St George’s. At all these meetings the latest trends in education were discussed and ideas swopped.’

 

It was in the 1970s and 1980s that heads in many South African schools, who until now had consciously or unconsciously followed the traditions of ‘benevolent despotism’, began to follow the example of their opposite numbers outside the country’s borders. They began to borrow from the worlds of commerce and industry the principles of what some vaguely called ‘group dynamics’. They become, bit by bit, more democratic in their management methods. They began to invite more opinions from the rank and file of staffs. They began to delegate more duties which previously they had done themselves. Many heads did not tread these new paths willingly; some conservative principals in State schools were dragged kicking and screaming along them by their immediate superiors, the inspectors. Perhaps, if St George’s had been a government school, the events of 1983 would not have taken place.

 

Whatever the case, it is on record that in January 1981 the board decided to make use of the 1980 publication: School Planning and Reporting Guide which had been discussed at the conference of private school heads. On his return from this conference, Dods had given the governors a resume of what had taken place and had suggested that St George's might well look at itself in terms of the guide's recommendations. In January 1983 a three-man sub-committee made up of the chairman, Mr RJ Wood, Mr AR Sherman, and the headmaster, was formed to see if the guide would be of any use in planning the future of the school. The board had shown some interest in debating the future of the school as far back as 1978, but nothing had come of it. After years had elapsed with still nothing having been done - despite Dods' frequent enquiries at board meetings as to whether anything was being done - he went ahead and prepared a questionnaire along the lines suggested in the guide, which was handed out to the academic staff. He was later rapped over the knuckles for doing this without consulting the board. We may again muse over Dods' letter of appointment which stated: 'You will be in full control of staff and pupils ... answerable only to the council of governors.

 

The questionnaire asked the staff for their views on the following:

1. What are the strengths of the school?

2. What are its weaknesses?

3. How can the strengths be exploited?

4. How can the weaknesses be eliminated?

5. What do you see as the major threats to the school?

6. How can the school be made less vulnerable to these threats?

7. What do you see as the objectives of the school: (a) academically (b) games-wise (c) other?

8. List what you consider to be the requirements of the school.

9. Any other comments.

 

This sensible and, in retrospect, unremarkable questionnaire was, as far as is known, the first of its kind that Dods' staff or any previous St George's staff had been asked to fill in. (It would be interesting to know how many other school staffs had done such an exercise at that time.) All except a few of the staff gave it serious thought and completed it. In the process the flood-gates of what appeared to be years of repressed feelings on the part of the prep school staff were opened.

 

To put this phenomenon in its correct perspective, one should remember that the very first classes of what was then called the junior school had moved from the city building to Mowbray as far back as 1949 in the Cuckow era. During the following 23-odd years, the preparatory section of the school had tended more and more towards becoming an autonomous unit. This should have been expected. It must have been very difficult for Cuckow, Peacock and Dods to keep an adequate eye on the prep school in addition to the senior school, separated as they were by a distance of seven kilometres as the crow flies. Likewise, a succession of senior masters at the prep school all believed that it should be a separate entity with its own headmaster. But when in 1973 the senior school finally moved out to Mowbray, and when St George's Grammar School, after nearly a generation of being two schools under two roofs, now suddenly reverted to being one school with one campus, with a headmaster in full-time attendance, the culture shock was profound, especially to staff-members in positions of authority. The reverberations were to be felt for years.

 

Dods writes that he was not surprised by some of the replies to the questionnaire. Since John Heather had left he had, of necessity, been keeping a tighter rein on the prep school, and changes had had to take place.

 

The tone and content of the replies added up to a difficult situation in anybody's language. Dods faced up to it as was his wont and composed a very clear and fair summary of the replies in which every view was recorded, even when only one staff-member had expressed it, and even when, in his opinion, the facts expressed were not true.

 

Under 'strengths' the staff had written:

1. Staff/pupil ratio is very good.

2. Most staff know the boys well.

3. Most staff interested and active.

4. Each boy encouraged to make full use of a variety of activities, and has a chance to shine.

5. Parents' committee active and interested.

6. Good communication between staff and parents.

7. Good communication between staff and pupils.

8. High academic standard.

9. Little 'red tape' as with government schools: freedom to experiment.

10. Working non-racial school based on Christian principles.

11. Excellent remedial programme.

12. Societies periods.

13. Camps.

14. A caring headmaster.

15. Happy family atmosphere.

16. The fact that we are able to express our opinions in this way.

17. A noteworthy team spirit and pride in the school.

 

It is worth pointing out that in his later comments on the staff's replies Dods went carefully through the favourable 'strengths' and sounded warnings and a note of caution wherever he thought they might be overdrawn. Under 'weaknesses' the staff noted no less than 35 points, of which several had sub-headings. Many of these resembled typical 'staff-room moans', the type that are likely to be expressed in the best of schools by the best of teachers when letting their hair down in the traditional freedom of speech allowed by the staff-room. But others were serious complaints which obviously deserved attention. Two perceived 'weaknesses' were aimed directly at Dods's leadership:

 

Poor communication between headmaster and staff (in both directions). There should be more staff meetings and 'grievance' polls.

 

In his subsequent comments, Dods admitted:

 

A two-way communication between headmaster and staff could be considerably improved. Staff need more and more explicit information from the headmaster, and the headmaster would appreciate 'eyeball-to-eyeball' instead of overt criticism. There must be more staff meetings, and the headmaster would appreciate it if staff submitted items for the agenda. Questionnaires seem to be a useful method of stimulating ideas and enabling us to check our standards.

 

The second went to the crux of the matter:

 

The headmaster runs the school as a one man show. More authority should be delegated - e.g. vice-principals to do all timetables; prep vice-principal to appoint councillors [referring to pupil councillors].

 

Dods commented at the time: 'It is accepted that there has not been enough delegation of authority. Headmaster and vice-principals will get together in order to decide how this can be remedied, and to examine those areas where authority has already been delegated.’ Looking back 14 years later, he wrote:

 

When I joined the school in 1966, Cleak had already prepared the timetable for that year. Thereafter VPs did that task until Victor Paine requested that he be relieved of the task as he did not think he would be able to cope with it. I took on the task until Barry Hart had familiarised himself with his new post and then he did it. The prep timetable was always done by the prep VI), after the senior timetable had been done. This was necessary because some of the staff were common to both schools — my attempt to knit the two together ... The prep VP did appoint councillors for my entire duration as headmaster ... So far from being behind the times, I wonder how many schools would have the VP attending meetings of the governing council. At my suggestion both VPs were invited to do so by the governors...

 

Most of the other 'weaknesses' were organisational problems which could be experienced at any school. Dods' comments on each were balanced and constructive. However, we may mention one other which is of interest from the point of view of the school's history: 'Virtually non-existent Old Boys' Union. This should be re-organised and better communications established with the school.'

Dods’s comments were:

 

Private schools are greatly dependent on a strong Old Boys’ Union. This is one of our greatest drawbacks: there are less than a dozen sons of Old Boys in the school. Attempts must be made to get past head and deputy-head prefects to answer a questionnaire similar to that done by staff. From this we can begin to re-organise the Union. We must forget about the older Old Boys at this stage and concentrate on the younger ones.

 

Dods presented the results of the questionnaire to the executive committee of the on 24 February 1983. In the discussion which followed, it was stated that the of the 'planning' sub-committee was to produce a plan for the future, and the urgency was once again stressed.

 

The headmaster pointed out that the school staff had called a general meeting to discuss how their views could be co-ordinated, and that this had rather cancelled out the value of the questionnaire as a means of testing the individual staff-member's independent and personal opinions. However, he acknowledged readily that areas of weakness had been revealed, and he was about to set up machinery which would help to eliminate them.

 

On 28 February Dods sent a frank and honest memo to the staff, in which he made the comments which have been recorded above. He also commented constructively on every 'grievance' which had been expressed. He summed up his feelings in these words:

 

I am dedicated with all the strength at my disposal to working for a single, unified school. I invite members of staff to accept this as a fact and help me to achieve the target. I believe that nothing can be gained by pointing fingers, but that everything gained by starting from this point and working solidly together to the end result.

 

These were admirable sentiments, which, at another time, and from another man, would probably have done the trick. But it seemed as though it was now too late for Graham Dods to make the fresh start which he was offering.

 

The following description of events is based on Graham Dods' final report to the council and to the staff later in the year:

 

On 24 March the chairman and headmaster met, and the chairman informed the head that the council of governors felt that he was ‘usurping their authority'. When Dods asked for specific examples of this, the chairman said firstly that he should not have prepared the questionnaire without the prior consent of the planning sub-committee formed in January (which had apparently still not met). Secondly, after the death of Mr V Paine the headmaster had appointed Mr B Hart to the vice-principalship without consulting the governing council. Finally, the headmaster had asked Mr Craig to propose a vote of thanks to Mr Beck without having obtained the chairman's permission to do so. The chairman then intimated that he intended to interview senior members of the staff without the headmaster being present.

 

On 20 May the sub-committee met for the first time. In his report Dods wrote:

 

The result of the questionnaire headed 'strengths' was completely ignored. Under the section headed 'weaknesses' most of the points were lightly dismissed as being of relatively minor importance, except for the points relating directly to the headmastership, which were heavily emphasized.

 

At the chairman's request Dods informed all members of staff of both the prep and senior schools that they were invited to attend a meeting with the two council members of the planning sub-committee. Only one member of the senior school staff but five members of the prep school staff came forward to do so.

 

The two council members then interviewed the staff. Immediately after these interviews the executive committee met, and the chairman then summarised the findings of the two council members of the sub-committee as follows:

 

1. The headmaster accepts unsuitable boys simply in order to balance the budget.

2. The headmaster accepts too many 'problem ' children.

3. Boys do not come on to the senior school from the junior school because the senior school lacks dynamism.

4. The headmaster shows a lack of leadership.

5. The headmaster runs the school as an autocratic institution.

 

Dods wrote (in 1983) that he acknowledged that there had been areas of weakness for which he had to accept responsibility. He pointed out that in the light of the 'opinion poll' steps had already been taken to eliminate these weaknesses Iona before the meeting of 24 May. However, the way in which the majority report of the sub-committee was formulated and presented left him no alternative but to write to the chairman indicating that he wished to retire at the end of 1983.

 

Dods went on to make comprehensive comments on each one of the five points of criticism mentioned above. We shall record only his responses to the last two. In answer to 'lack of leadership' he wrote:

 

Under my headmastership the following were achieved or introduced to St George's Grammar School:

1. A new senior school was built at a time when the council had already taken the decision to approach Bishops to allow St George's to form an additional house as part of Bishops. The raising of funds for this project could certainly be described as a 'one-man show', moreover, along with voluntary cuts in salary by the headmaster, there were sufficient funds left over to enable us to run the school as a viable proposition for several years.

2. Xhosa, biology and economics were introduced as matriculation subjects, while Latin was introduced into the junior school, as was 'new maths' at least three years before the government schools followed suit.

3. The matric dinner, speech night suppers and the new-boy parents suppers have become part of the St George's tradition.

4. Matrics now autonomically become members of the Old Boys' Union.

5. The whole structure of the so-called 'societies periods’.

6. Hockey, badminton, water-polo and judo as additional games.

7. Woodwork, first aid, public speaking (in both official languages) as additional societies.

8. Full housemaster reports for all day-boys.

9. The duplicate report system for records.

10. Computerisation.

11. Advanced reading courses.

12. The Select Dragon Club denoting all-round excellence.

13. Weekly incentives in games, and 'professional coaching'.

14. The industry awards.

15. The annual camp.

16. Sunday Services partly conducted by the boarders themselves.

17. A new playing field.

18. Complete flood control of the playing fields.

19. The weekly testing system.

20. The nursery school, primarily as a means of retaining ownership of the town property.

21. A new transport system which shows a profit instead of a loss.

22. Colours for games in the junior school.

23. Hot lunches for day boys, thus helping to make the hostel a viable proposition.

24. An efficient tuck-shop and library.

25. Apart from the old oaks, most of the trees in the school were planted by me.

26. In recent years senior school boys hare gained provincial recognition in: public speaking, cricket, sailing, judo, athletics, and water-skiing.

27. For the first time in its history the school has had the honour of having its headmaster as vice-chairman of the Headmasters’ Conference of Private Schools, and indeed chairman elect for 1984-1986.

28. Successfully and smoothly accomplished racial integration into St George 's.

29. Written a short history of the school which appears in the Longman publication Some Famous Schools in South Africa.

30. Achieved the matriculation results below, with the results for 1954 - 1961 (as published by the Archbishop's commission) first:

 

Year                    1ST Class                            Other Passes                     Total Passes                  Failures

 

1954-61                14 (4,4%)                            81 (61,4%)                          95 (72,0%)                             37 (28,0%)

 

1973-82                53(30,2%)                           123 (67,5%)                        176 (96,7%)                             6 (3,3%)

 

(The matric class enrolment: During the second period there was an average of barely two more pupils in the class than in the first.)

1. Just incidentally, because money was not always readily available, the headmaster himself panelled the dining hall and the library (now the boarders' common room), made the dining hall tables and benches, the cubicles and partitions in the Bloemendal dormitories, the furniture for the studies, the book lockers for the entire senior school, the tables and chairs for council meetings, the bedside cabinets for the junior and senior hostels, all the pickets for the cricket fields, and many of the beds in Bloemendal.

 

In answer to whether the he ran the school as an autocratic institution he wrote:

 

I do not believe that any member of staff has been given less than he has been capable of handling. Moreover the following are not indications of an autocratic institution:

1. The headmaster visits the junior school officially once per week for a period of 20 minutes to take tea in the common room. During the week the entire routine is controlled by the junior school vice-principal, including morning assemblies.

2. The junior school councillors (prefects) are elected by the junior school vice-principal.

3. The college prefects are appointed by the headmaster after voting by both boys and staff and discussion at staff meetings.

4. The junior school prize-giving is organised and run completely by the vice-principal of the junior school and no attempt is made to monitor either what he does or what he says.

5. Day housemasters are completely in charge of all aspects of the life and the discipline of their boys and choose their own house prefects. Parents of those boys consult the housemasters when problems arise, and housemasters are delegated to deal with these problems.

6. House suppers are organised and run by the boarding housemasters.

7. Four assemblies per week (including one in Afrikaans) are run by other members of staff.

8. The annual camp is organised completely by members of staff under the senior school vice-principal.

9. The two vice-principals are completely responsible for the preparation and organisation of prize-giving.

10. There is a weekly staff meeting in the senior school, conducted by the headmaster or, in his absence, the senior school vice-principal.

11. The nursery school is run as a completely autonomous unit.

12. Vice-principals attend council meetings. I know of no other school where this is the case. (This was the case at the author's school, at least, during the 1980s.)

13. The running of games, the audio-visual department, the library and computer department are completely in the hands of staff.

14. Staff turnover has been exceptionally low and this despite the fact that we have not always been attractive from a remuneration point of view ... In the headmaster's I8 years at St George's there was a staff turnover of less than five percent.

 

He ended his report:

 

Finally, I believe that history may well come-down on the side of the minority report, and, for me, this has been confirmed in the expressions of shock and dismay which have been expressed by the vast majority of members of staff and the multitude of parents when they learnt that I was to retire at the end of this year.

 

The author asked Mr Barry Hart for his opinions after he had read an early draft of this chapter. He agreed with the sentiments expressed and confirmed the accuracy of the facts recorded, but added that he believed that Graham Dods had saved the school when he took it over, especially in the financial sense. It was important that he acted as he did in the beginning; he had to be a 'strong person'. Mr Hart felt that by the time that Victor Paine died Dods was already inclining towards more democratic methods in his running of the school. Others have suggested, however, that it was the staff's hints that they wanted more say that finally prompted Dods to get out the questionnaire. In any case, events overtook him.

 

Mr Hart said that Dods was normally so involved in administration that pupils did not get to know him. When some of them met him at camp they could not believe what an approachable person he was. He had stopped being 'Graham Dods the headmaster'; for the first time they saw the very human part of him.

 

In The Georgian of 1983/84 Barry Hart wrote the following already been quoted in part:

 

It was with sadness that St George's bade farewell to its longest serving headmaster Mr Graham Dods, at the end of last year. He served the school from 1965 10 1983 and was instrumental in bringing about many changes and developments in the school during that lime. These years saw the move of the senior school to Mowbray, the new buildings being largely the result of his own fund-raising efforts. More recently he realised the changing educational needs of St George's and in tune with other schools, he motivated the idea of an audio-visual centre. Again, his fund-raising made this a reality and it is appropriate that the new building will be named after him ... An excellent administrator, he had a hand in every activity of the school ... The school's outstanding record in the mathematics olympiad and the matriculation mathematics results are testimony to his good teaching. Being a sportsman himself... he took a special interest in the school teams, always expecting nothing but the very best. A boy who performed shabbily on the Saturday seldom escaped his sharp tongue on the Monday, but he was quick to give credit where it was due. Midge Dods also played an active role in the life of the school. Over the years she taught Xhosa, English, history and Divinity, took exercise classes and yoga, and was school florist and caterer on numerous occasions. A more able and charming right-hand lady could not have been wished for. To Graham and Midge Dods life was St George's, and their contribution and dedication over the years will not be forgotten...

 

The 'random thoughts' which Mr Dods recently sent the author on request ended with these words:

 

If I may sum up my feelings about St George's it would be this. There are five ingredients which go to make up the image of any school: the pupils, the staff, the Old Boys, the governors and the parents. It is the successful mixing of all ingredients which leads to greatness: at any moment of time the standing which a school has is the responsibility of all five ingredients. At times this truth may be distasteful, but it is nevertheless a truth. The great ladle which could mix all these ingredients together most successfully is the confirmed belief that our school is important. Forget the past except where it provides that strength of tradition which is great and, with determination, work to a future which will ensure the perpetuation of its greatness.

 

Perhaps one ought to add a vital sixth ingredient, the headmaster, who should be considered separately from the staff. It is he who sets the example and the pace. He also sets the tone. It is he who, by his very presence in the school, builds up an atmosphere and an ethos. It is his personality that permeates every activity, every function, and every meeting. It is his words - in their content or in their style - which are remembered by pupils and staff long after they are uttered. It is the headmaster who has the 'exposure'. If he is steadfast or if he should falter, the effects will be felt by all who are led by him. But it is important that all members of a school team cherish their links with each other and support those who are out in the middle.

 

The captain's innings of Graham Dods was long and arduous, played on a turning wicket. Batting with single-minded devotion, he built a score to be proud of. He deserved the applause he received on his retirement.