St David's Marist is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

preparatory and high school for boys in Inanda, a suburb of

Sandton Sandton is a financial, commercial and residential area, located in the northern part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Formerly an independent municipality, Sandton's name came from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sa ...

, South Africa. The school was established in 1941 by the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

History

The school's roots began in post- revolution France. The Marist Order, also known as the Little Brothers of Mary, was founded by the Father Marcellin Champagnat to educate young children, especially the neglected or those suffering from poverty. The order has since spread throughout the world. The Order arrived in Johannesburg in 1889, three years after the founding of the city. They were among the first to establish a boys' school in the little mining town that was to become the centre of business and finance in South Africa. The location was at Koch St in downtown Johannesburg. A second school was established in Observatory but it became apparent that the school premises in Koch St were becoming inadequate as the city grew and encroached on the property. Additional property was sought for a new school. Land was purchased in Inanda, then a semi-rural area north of Johannesburg, and building commenced in 1940. St David's opened in 1941 as a private boarding school, and by 1953 the school had 475 pupils, 200 of them being

boarders ''Boarders'' is a British teen comedy-drama television series created by Daniel Lawrence Taylor, centred around the lives of five young Black teens who earn scholarships into the prestigious boarding school of St. Gilbert's. The series is develop ...

. In 1963 the school acquired another 45 acres (18 hectares) of land, making it the largest Marist establishment in South Africa. Marcellin Champagnat was canonised in 1999. His legacy lives on at St David's as it does at all Marist schools. The educational philosophy of Champagnat was simple: ''"To teach children one must love them and love them equally. I cannot see a child without wanting to tell them how much God loves them."''

St David's today

As of 2022, the school has 1,400 pupils. The school is separated into Junior Preparatory (Grade 00 and grade 0), Preparatory (Grades 1–7) and High School (Grades 8–12). The Preparatory School has 640 boys and the high school 750 boys. The school has continued to expand over the last few years with the addition of new classrooms, as well as media, music, art, sports and technology centres.

Houses

Pupils are divided among eight houses: The Bishops House (yellow), Osmond House (blue), Benedict House (green), College House (red), Jude House (grey), Selima House (black), Plaatje House (purple), and Daswa House (orange). The houses compete against each other in athletic, cultural and academic competitions. College House is the holder of the Owen Sims Shield for the overall Interhouse competitions throughout the Preparatory and High School as well as the House Cup for the top house in the High School.

Uniform

Students wear a navy blue blazer with vertical gold stripes and a navy blue tie with diagonal gold stripes. The Marist Monogram (an intertwined "A.M." for "Ave Maria") appears on the pocket of the blazer. A "Half Colours" tie is awarded to students excelling in academics or any of the school's sports, cultural, or service activities. The tie is solid navy blue with the school crest and the name of the sport or area in which they have excelled. It is worn instead of the standard school tie. Similar ties are worn by the School Prefects. "Full Colours" are awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves as being one of the best in their sport or other disciplines. Students who have been awarded their full colours wear the scroll on their school blazer underneath the pocket. The highest honour that can be given to a student is the "Honours Blazer". There are two ways to gain this award, namely General Honours and Specific Honours. A student needs full colours in three of the five categories (Sport, Academics, Service, Cultural and Leadership) to be awarded General Honours. Specific Honours is awarded for unusual excellence in one specific field, for example national or provincial representation in a sport. The blazer is automatically awarded to the Head Prefect each year. It is light and royal blue with gold stripes, and has the school's crest on the pocket.

Hierarchy and student structures

The Matrics (grade 12) constitute the leadership body of the school, known as the Matric Leadership Group. Between twelve and fourteen grade 11 boys are elected by the school in October to constitute the Prefect body for the following year. They take over the leadership of the school in mid-October when the Matrics commence their study leave. Three weeks later, at Prize-Giving, a Head Prefect and Deputy Head Prefect are announced. Matrics who are not prefects can be elected into positions of heads of portfolio within their houses. Portfolios include Sport, Cultural, Spirit, Academic, Environment, Public Relations, Mentor and House Secretary. There are also positions as Grade Co-ordinators. Matrics who demonstrate leadership qualities during their Matric year are eligible to be awarded a Leadership Scroll.

Sporting tradition

Students participate in summer and winter sports, teams are arranged according to age groups (Under 14, 15, 16 and Open) to compete against other schools. The primary sports in the high school are

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, soccer, swimming,

waterpolo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with more ...

and

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

. In winter, the school fields about 15 rugby teams and 13 hockey teams every week. The school also has tennis,

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

, cross country and basketball. The school colours are navy blue and gold, but it is a tradition that first teams wear black and gold. The sports that are offered in the school are: *

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

* Cross country *

Football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

Hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

Rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

Cultural tradition

The school has choirs, bands and private instrument tuition. Annual events include inter-House music and play competitions, as well as yearly major dramatic productions.

The St David's Marist Foundation

St David's Marist Foundation was established in 2006 and its first objective is to establish an Endowment Fund, which will provide financial resources to the School in perpetuity. The Endowment capital is invested to achieve long term capital growth and provide funding for priorities identified by the school board of governors and the board of trustees. Foremost among the foundation's priorities is providing bursaries and scholarships to deserving boys from disadvantaged backgrounds. To this end, each year the foundation awards 4–6% of its opening capital to qualifying programs. St David's Marist Foundation/UK Charity is an extension of our Foundation and is registered as an official charity with the UK Charity Commission. The SDMF UK Charity is able to accept and channel donations from UK based donors to the benefit of St David's Marist, Inanda.

Marist Old Boys Society

The school's alumni organisation falls under the constitution set out by the Marist Old Boys Society or MOBS. Entrance to the society is automatic upon matriculation from a Marist school and not limited to just St David's old boys. The administration, Annual General Meeting and committee majority is, however, dominated by old boys of St David's and all of these functions are hosted by the school itself. The MOBS committee has worked closely with The Foundation and with the PTA in a number of fund raising events. The MOBS serve a number of alumni functions including data-base management, communications and reunion co-ordination as well as identifying and reporting the successes of past students in their personal lives and careers.

Notable alumni

Temba Bavuma Temba Bavuma (born 17 May 1990) is a South African international cricketer who is the current captain of the South African cricket team in Tests and ODI cricket, and formerly captained in T20I. He is a right-handed middle-order batter. He w ...

– South African cricketer, plays for the Proteas and the

Highveld Lions The DP World Lions is a professional cricket team in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The home venue is the DP World Wanderers Stadium which is situated in Illovo Sandton on Corlett Drive. The team plays in the CSA 4-Day Series first class cricket comp ...

. Temba made his debut for South Africa against the West Indies in 2014. * Giulio Giuricich – South African soccer player, plays For

Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often referred to as Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto, Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two Soweto clubs ...

. *

Dominic Hendricks Dominic Andrew Hendricks (born 7 November 1990) is a South African cricketer who played for Gauteng. A left-handed batsman, Hendricks has also represented South Africa U19. Hendricks made his List A debut for Gauteng on his 19th birthday, maki ...

– South African cricketer, plays for the Highveld Lions. * Pumelela Matshikwe – South African cricketer, plays for the Highveld Lions. *

Vuyani Pambo Vuyani Pambo (born 12 August 1989) is a South African politician and former student activist. He has represented the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the National Assembly since May 2019 and serves as the head of the EFF presidency. He rose t ...

- South African Politician,Member of Parliament for the Economic Freedom Fighters

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint David's Marist, Inanda Schools in Johannesburg Educational institutions established in 1941 Marist Brothers schools Private schools in Gauteng 1941 establishments in South Africa Christianity in Johannesburg