Events
St Stithians is an extremely busy campus, alive with school activities all day, during evenings and over most weekends. There are numerous sporting, cultural, academic, parent and community experiences happening all the time, and you can read more about these individual events in the news section of the website.
A number of events during the year involve all the schools and the Saints community, notably the Saints Sports Festival (comprised of a Prep Festival and a College Festival), and Founders' Day. The Saints Festival happens on an around the Easter weekend, with the College Festival happening over the Easter weekend istelf.
These “whole school” events create synergy and a sense of coming together for the Saints community, and are fundamental to upholding the ethos and the spirit of the College.
Below are showcased two annual Saints events.
Founders’ Day
Over 4 000 people gather on Baytopp Field on the first weekend in June each year to give thanks to God and to our founders. Among the gathering of students, staff, parents and alumni were some VIP guests, including a guest speaker.
Founders’ Day is the largest formal gathering in the annual calendar of St Stithians. Through this event, we gain a wonderful sense of community and purpose. Our service of celebration is led by our Superintendent Chaplain Rev Dan Nkomo.
Founders’ Day is a great act of participation and a huge team effort. The music is always memorable, with the choirs and orchestras leading us in the singing of hymns and songs.
The theme of Founders’ 2018 was ‘Sains Character’. Below is an extract from the Rector's address.
A school is complex ecology of young people and adult role models -- parents, teachers, administrators, support staff. We embrace and celebrate the awesome responsibility and the breath- taking opportunities that we experience daily at school.
We want our young people and staff to have a healthy self-identity.
We want our young people and staff to live beyond self, to advance the common good.
We therefore embrace Saints Character as a whole-school concept and practice.
And so, I say: Let us be the Voice (a reference to the main musical item on Founders’ Day, ‘You’re the Voice’).
Let us give Saints Character voice: Viva, Saints Character, Viva!
Read the Rector's 2018 Founders' Day address here.
Saints Sports Festival
The Saints Sports Festival, formerly the Saints Easter Sports Festival, is a massive celebration of school sport and it is the oldest and largest of its kind. The Festival began as a rugby festival in 1984 and has grown to include cross country, football, hockey, netball, squash, and tennis.
In 2018, we welcomed over 50 000 people to our campus for an amazing festival of school sport from 28 March –2 April 2018. There was significant coverage of the Festival.
The Festival brought together players from South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
Thank you to all our Saints families for your support. Thank you to our main sposor Standard Bank for their ongoing support of this event.
Read the full story on the 2017 Saints Sports Festival here.