Here is an interesting extract from a Grey High School news letter. It gives one an idea of just how costly it is to run a first class school these days and where the money has to come from.
Membership of the Union is something we continually promote and we have achieved some success in having an ever increasing number of Old Greys join the ranks. This year 330 Old Greys joined the Union but on the other hand some 380 have failed to renew their membership which is rather sad. That said, we believe that we do have some innovative ideas in mind which will provide Union members with meaningful advantages and it will be worth your while to become a member of the Union.
The bottom line is that the stronger the (Old Greys’) Union, the stronger the Grey Schools. The link between Old Greys and the Grey Schools must be a strong one. Parents at Grey High fund a R30 million budget of which Government provides only R120.000. The old days of simply phoning the Education Dept. to repair a broken window pane are long gone. If there was ever a time that the traditional schools needed the support of their Alumni, it is now.
The formation of a Grey Foundation will be of major benefit to the schools. The private schools have had similar institutions in place for years and these schools have thrived. We will be going the same route with our own Foundation being fully operational by 2015. That year marks our 100th Anniversary on the present campus in Mill Park.
@Grasshopper: Have read that the goverment is considering a option where the schools still receive basic funding from goverment, R 120 000, and are subject to their academic rules and regulations. BUT is privatized ie the running of the schools will be transferred to the school or “owners”. Interesting concept which is already successful in a few countries. Maybe this is the solution.
@sacssupporter: Agreed! Glenwood too is an old Model C school with fees at around R30k per annum. With 1250 boys that is revenue of around R37,5 million. Old Boys are the ones funding all the new buildings, scholarships, bursaries, tours etc. Parents are also forking out for tours, kit etc. It’s a full on business that the average family needs to support to maintain standards. Alot cheaper than going fully private at R100k a year at say Bishops or R200k a year at Hilton or Michaelhouse boarding. It’s tough for all out there….I am pushing for the schools websites to start monetising the sites and getting Ads running there to bring in some revenue from there. Also a good 1st team rugby team gets sponsorship from Mr Price, Puma, Adidas etc which can be worth hundreds of thousands even millions. Glenwood is sponsored by Puma as an example……it’s a dog fight out there and the schools need to box clever..
And I guess there is nothing better as an Old Boy to see your school is still up there with the best. And to ensure that you’d finance things in your old school that you believe in an support.
Model C schools like the two Grey schools, my son’s school SACS and many others have to be run like businesses in order to stay at the top as far as academics, cultural & sporting efforts go. Most of these schools now have marketing people who go out and find funding to enable their schools to excel.
Well run Old Boy unions, like Grey High’s, add huge value to their schools in providing funding not only for buildings & grounds improvements but also for providing scholarships & bursaries for deserving scholars in all three spheres mentioned above.
They allow schools to keep their annual fees affordable whilst allowing their school to com[pare favourably to the traditional very expensive “private” schools.
Schools are now also actively finding companies & corporates to sponsor huge sums of money towards specific areas – like first team rugby coaching staff and player recruitment.
I completely support all forms of financing model C schools – they need to remain centres of excellence to ensure our kids get the best at a reasonable price.
Its wonderful to see what the “old boys associations” are doing in an effort to sustain acceptable levels, but the question I ask again, is how long can they continue to do so? Fact is that the challenges are becoming greater every day, while the interested parties abilities to contribute, are being diminished by the day.