OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 13
SCHOOL NEWS
SCHOOL SNIPPETS
LEFT The impressive Ubuntu Learning
Centre was officially opened in July.
BELOW In honour of Bishops’s 175th
birthday, the entire school, from Grade N
to 12 and all staff, undertook 175 minutes
of service to others on Mandela Day.
SPORTING SUCCESS
It seems fitting that
Bishops tasted a variety
of sporting successes in
2024 to mark the 175th
anniversary year.
Both the school’s
water polo and cricket
first teams were ranked
number one in the country
by the end of the first
term. In addition to many
impressive victories, the
water-polo players also
won the Fair Play Trophy
at KES for exemplary
conduct both in and out
of the pool, and were
named the WP Team
of the Year. With cricket
in fine fettle, the First XI
team set off for Sri Lanka
in June on a 13-day tour
of the island; it was the
school’s first international
cricket tour since 2016.
In winter, the squash
first team enjoyed its
most successful season
in years, winning the WP
Top Schools competition,
and so qualifying for the
National Top Schools
Tournament for the first
time in 32 years.
Bishops has always
emphasised teamwork,
hence the team successes
getting first recognition
here – but we celebrate
individual prowess, too,
and there have been some
phenomenal achievements
in the past year.
Daniel von der Heyden
(W) has continued his
extraordinary run of
athletic record-setting,
both on local fields and
at national level. In April,
he won gold in the U18
men’s decathlon, setting a
new South African record
before the 10th event had
even been run. His final
tally of 6,935 points was
nearly 700 more than the
previous record – and he
then went on to better it
at the German National
Athletics Championships
held in Hanover in August,
where he won the bronze
medal. Daniel, who is one
of the two deputy head
boys of the school in 2025,
is now ranked eighth in
the world for the U18
men’s decathlon.
On the cricket field,
First XI opening batsman
Adnaan Lagadien (F) was
rewarded for his incredible
form with selection to the
SA Emerging U19 team in
September 2024, and then
to the SA U19s in January
this year. He now has
a profile on Cricinfo.
In water sports, Theodor
Scheder-Bieschin (F)
represented SA in three
sailing events, two in
Germany and one in
Poland; and Jordan De
Sousa (G) and Thomas
Truter (W) were chosen
to play SA U18 water polo.
Jordan then represented
the men’s open side in
December (see p76).
James Grieve (M),
Josh Mettler (F) and
Robbie Veldtman (B)
were selected for SA U18A
hockey, having earned
gold with WP in the interprovincial tournament.
ABOVE The state-of-the-art rowing facility, a first of
its kind in South Africa, was opened in November. A new
astro and an indoor water-polo centre are in the planning.
THE OLD DIOCESAN | 11
