ST HENRYS MARIST COLLEGE
School in Durban

St Marcellin Champagnat was the founder of the Society of Mary and to him was given the task of founding a teaching Order. At the age of eleven and with little aptitude for academic work, Marcellin, decided he preferred farm work to hours spent over books. Marcellin found the early years of his studies extremely difficult. He was determined the Society should include teaching Brothers to work with rural children with no Christian education. A primary school was established which became a teacher training centre for the Brothers. Marcellin motivated them with his enthusiasm for teaching and spreading the gospel, teaching them how to pray and to live in community. Founded in 1817, the Marist Brothers is an international community with the goal of educating young people, especially those most neglected. The Marist Brothers are involved in educational work throughout the world and now conduct primary and secondary schools, academies, industrial schools, orphanages and retreat houses in 79 countries on five continents, reaching almost half a million young people. In the mid nineteenth century, the Bishop of the Cape set about getting religious brothers and sisters to teach the children in his small Catholic community. The concern of the early priests and religious was to care for their relatively small Catholic communities. For many years, the South African Catholic Church devoted the majority of its manpower and resources to the white community and comparatively little to other groups that eventually made up the bulk of its members. The world was being radically transformed through a post-industrial revolution, decolonization, and, in the Church, an unexpected revolution had been launched with the Second Vatican Council. South Africa suffered the tragedy of Sharpeville and the persecution of opponents of apartheid, with Nelson Mandela and other figures involved in the struggle being imprisoned. Love of Work: Marcellin’s practical lifestyle moved others to work hard and to respect all kinds of labour. He balanced work with prayer and life in community. She was concerned for others and stood by those who suffered. The Learning Resource Centre, incorporating the School Library and Archives, is wellequipped as the nucleus of research. Pupil-Teacher ratios are very favourable, classes averaging twenty-two to twenty-five students, ensuring that each student receives the best possible individual attention. In the Foundation and Junior Preparatory Phase traditional spelling, phonics, tables, bonds, grammar and reading programmes form a core part of the schemes of work alongside tested creative and innovative contemporary approaches and methods.Married to this is a vigilant concern for the spiritual and emotional well-being of the pupils and continuous interaction between management, teachers and parents. Assessment is carried out continually on both a formal and informal basis. Problem areas are addressed as soon as possible to avoid accumulation of learning difficulties. The teachers’ focus is always on the happy, productive student, keen to attend school and who enjoys success in as many areas as possible, academic and extra-mural. The new double-storeyed building of six classrooms, a library, Principal’s office and cloisters is opened. The College playing fields are renamed and blessed by Wilfrid Cardinal Napier OFM, Archbishop of Durban.