From the DHS website:
Durban High School (DHS), one of the oldest boys’ high schools in Kwazulu-Natal, is set to benefit from income on the investment of the proceeds of the sale of the property, which is currently occupied by the DHS Old Boy’s Club and some lessees. The property belongs to The Durban High School Foundation Trust.
The property, which is approximately 4,3 hectares (43 000 m2) in extent, is flanked by Marlborough Crescent and Gainsborough Drive in Durban North and is expected to realize above R45m.
It was initially purchased as a memorial to Old Boys of the school who had fallen in the First and Second World Wars and was subsequently developed as a sporting and clubhouse facility for DHS Old Boys. The Foundation has taken a decision that the property is to be sold with the proceeds to be invested by the Foundation for the provision of annual scholarships and capital expenditure at DHS.
The Foundation is calling for proposals to purchase and develop the property. It is intended that all interested developers submit proposals to the DHS Foundation by no later than 21 April 2014. The relevant property information and proposal form can be obtained from the offices of Garlicke and Bousfield for a fee of R1 000-00 plus VAT.
In the interim, the property will be fenced, and existing lessees will continue to operate in the former clubhouse buildings.
The call for proposals is being networked locally and internationally to ensure that as many DHS Old Boys as possible have the opportunity to put forward proposals. At the same time, other interested parties are also invited to submit proposals by the closing date.
The proposals will be adjudicated by the Foundation and Garlicke and Bousfield. The evaluation will include the purchase price, satisfactory financial guarantees and deposits, acceptable and realistic land usage, sustainability of the proposed project, effects of the proposed development on the neighbourhood and the likelihood of regulatory approvals being obtained.
The successful proposer will enter into a sale agreement, which will enable it to make application to the relevant authorities for the required statutory development approvals in terms of the planning and environmental legislation. The property is currently zoned Private Open Space, and transfer will only be effected once the necessary statutory approvals have been received.
Chris Seabrooke, Chairman of the DHS Foundation Trust has highlighted the future benefits of the process to DHS, saying: “The Foundation has for some time wrestled with how the full value and potential of the property could be unlocked. Developers now have an opportunity to put forward proposals to purchase or develop the property. Income on the investment of the proceeds will provide more substantial and more consistent funding from the Foundation to DHS for scholarships and capital expenditure, thus ensuring the perpetuation of the DHS Heritage of Excellence which started in 1866 out of humble beginnings in Smith Street”.
@Jordaan: I would guess that the current parent body has a different culture mix to previous generations and their focus is different. That does not make them wrong but does tend to impact negatively on sport.
@Gungets Tuft: Agreed they have always been strong academically, but, what I can’t understand is why the current parents are not at all that concerned about sport, given DHS’s proud sporting tradition. The hallmark of a great school is of course not only how they perform academically, sport plays a huge part in a child’s development and is extremely important as a factor in attracting top talent to the school.
I can’t understand why the school has only woken up 10 years after their sport has been in the doldrums – indeed sad as they were always our biggest rival in KZN. I hope this is not a case of “too much, but too late”!
@Jordaan: 5 years is all it takes with the right vision, but masses of “political will” to keep the effort up, and a stable parent and governing body at the same time.
The issue is the current parents, most of whom evidently don’t really care about Tier 2 – because it is sport only. Their matric results are fine, the majority of parents are just fine with that. R45 million into the school coffers will not get spent on sport, bet the very last Rand on that. If I were to start it, I would jack up the BE – there’s your springboard.
I wish them luck, College share a special with DHS, it would be lekker to have them back on song.
…desperate times call for desperate measures to raise money in an attempt to get the school back to a true tier 1 school again…going to be a lengthy battle.
DHS along with College were without doubt the top 2 sporting schools in KZN up until as recently as about 15 years ago.
DHS are currently facing an uphill battle to attract the top talent, as no matter which way you look at it, the school has gone downhill big time in the last 15 years. Parents on the Berea are favoring Glenwood and if they are willing to travel a little further outside their comfort area, Westville is by far the most favored choice. Any neutral parent who has a kid in grade 7 will attest to this.
Point is, even if DHS are offering R100M in bursaries they are still going to struggle because they’ve become a tier 2 school. If your son has real talent and is bursary material, there are far more attractive options out there than DHS, lets be honest!
@Roger: Ahhh, to know how the name originated, you would have to say it aloud ….
Accept the irony then … I very much doubt they want to plant the mazambane on the main pitch, the Hilton estate is massive, it’s probably the far reaches of the nature reserve that is being spoken about. And in all likelihood it will result in a cash settlement as do most of them. Hilton Old Boys are not short of tin, I am sure they can scrape up a bit of wonga. After all, they are saving over a Bar a year on their rugby coach …
@Gungets Tuft: irony old chap – irony
perhaps I should have used this 
instead of this 
by the way – where does Gungets Tuft come from?
@Roger:
For fringe postings, I think this one might just take the cake. Why would you take any pleasure in this …?
now here’s an interesting article – would be terrible if Hilton lost their number 1 cricket oval – what, what
http://www.kwanalu.co.za/default.asp?action=news&Id=1104
I just checked on the principal of Crawford La Lucia. What he (sic) does in his spare time …
@Gungets Tuft: Boet, that is not him, surname Henry…
@Grasshopper: Your ex-teacher had some rather radical surgery there bru?
http://crawfordschools.co.za/?p=245
@Grasshopper: The headmaster at a school sends his boy to another (government) school. Vote of confidence that!!
On the whole subject of NSC vs IEB – it might be the costs, as Roger points out, they are a business for profit, so they would save money where they can. But, it could also be the relative ease of the exams (IEB vs NSC) and that makes it easier to maintain the levels of results. I know that we have kids leaving private IEB schools in Grade 11 to go to Crawford to take advantage of that.
@Grasshopper: Eeisch. I would need to do an age verification before I can explain.
@Gungets Tuft: Sorry, am I being doff…..what?
@Roger: Funny an ex teacher of mine is the Head at Crawford La Lucia and his son plays 1st team cricket at Glenwood, weird! Anyway, he reckons they write an Australian exam for trials to get international recognition and then gov exams. Maybe IEB costs them to much. I have heard all 3 mentioned by Roger are pretty good.
@Gungets Tuft: sure – but everyone knows that re Crawford, if your kid is not cutting it academically then he/she is out – no secret. B symbols don’t look good on the annual Advtech Board Report. I am not a fan but heh – I’m only right 90% of the time
What I can’t figure out re: Crawford is why they don’t write the IEB exams and rather follow the government curriculum?
Tell me – what is Umhlanga Collge, Umhlali Prep and Ashton in Balito like?
@Grasshopper: Book the school spot for the boy, then .. {koff} .. top left corner
8)
@Gungets Tuft: Thanks G’tuft, yeah we thinking Curro Salt Rock or Trinityhouse at Palm. Steve Cromie, my old teacher at Glenwood is running the Curro at Salt Rock, seems a good new little school that. If I have a boy one day, a DHS private at the coast would have my backing :-)
@Roger: Sure, and agree. I have no knowledge of Redham or Curro, but a less than favourable view or Crawford (certainly La Lucia). They are so protective of their academic record that they weed out the “underperformers” as soon as they can. If your kid is not a A and B symbol candidate, expect some pressure to take them to a “more appropriate school”. It happened to a mate of mine, so not guessing here.
As for not caring about tradition and ethos, but “wanting the best for their kids” … good luck with that. If the best for their kids is simply a good school mark, OK, but I am not buying it
@Grasshopper: Richard Neave is the ex-Headmast of DPHS and a fanatical supporter of DHS. He retired last year and is rumoured to be looking to start a school in KZN. I would not be at all surprised to see him associated with a development plan for the DHS Old Boys site, and I am sure he would not struggle with backers.
@Grasshopper: I have friends who have their kids at Curro, very happy. For a newish setup they have made great strides. Given a choice of Curro and Crawford .. go Curro, JMO
@Roger: Agreed, my daughter is likely to go to Curro or Trinityhouse up to grade 8 but her mother wants her to go to Durban Girls College where she went, just trying to work out if these ‘new age’ schools are OK at high school level and provide a good all round education….
@Grasshopper: @Gungets Tuft: Curro, Redham and Crawford certainly provide top quality education. Curro have even established their own teachers training college and deploy these highly qualified teachers at their schools once they graduate. There is a massive market for private schools at a level of fees below what your St Stithians, Kearsney, St Johns, Michaelhouse etc etc charge – this is where Curro etc enter the equation. Affordable (just) and top quality education. They don’t spend inordinate amounts on their campus and sport but focus instead on academics and the classroom. If your kid is not sporty and you want affordable private schooling – its a viable option. Some people don’t give a rats arse for tradition, ethos etc – they want the best for their kids
@Gungets Tuft: That is what I mean, private out that way. Who is Richard Neave? I’m skepitical of these Curro, Ashton, TrinityhousE, Reddam and Crawford ‘new age’ schools….just seem to good to be true….
@Grasshopper: A Ballito DHS would be a private school, if Richard Neave is behind it. Traditional values possibly – but make no mistake, RN was able to squeeze a buck out of parents, so forget about it being your common or garden R3000 a month school. He runs a good ship, but costly …
@Greenwood: I like the idea of a Ballito ‘DHS’, moving there is 6 months and the area needs more traditional type schools. Far too many of these ‘new-age’ type schools….
I had heard that back in about 1973 DHS turned down an option to purchase the adjacent Berea Park area. If they had, they would have been styling today pretty much the same way College is now with the surrounding property seemingly at at their disposal.
I reckon even with 3 good sized fields and a hockey astro, there would still be plenty of room to put up additional buildings on that Berea Park plot. What a pity for DHS that they did not take up the option. It was good news for Saturday flea market fans tho
I wonder what plans School has for the future – there were suggestions that DHS may move to the Balito area and become “private School” or are they going invest in new buildings and facilities keeping in mind that like Glenwood expansion on existing premises is limited
Scholarships mean the school can pick and choose intakes and from a sport point of view demographics will have less of an impact on major sporting codes like Rugby which is lagging at these times – So IMO these Scholarships will impact on intakes to both Westville , Northwood and Glenwood – If you’ve got the bucks you’ve got the bang !!- Interesting times ahead so watch out for the big bangs !!! ……………