Grey High School

The school was founded by John Paterson, and named after Sir George Edward Grey, Governor of Cape Colony for the period 5 December 1854 – 15 August 1861.[1]

Quad Races: Inspired by the film Chariots of Fire, which deals with the rivalry between two famous Olympic athletes, Grey High School had both the cloisters and the necessary clock tower to perform this, and thus created its own version of a "Quad Race", held annually.

Matric students (final-year students) participate in time trials and the two most athletic qualifiers are chosen to compete in the race. They then toss for position, the winner usually choosing the inside lane. They wait for the four quarters to strike on the clock tower before they are set off by the Rector on the first strike of the chimes. They begin the race directly in front of the war memorial and they run in an anti-clockwise direction. They race against each other as well as against the ten chimes which take approximately 20 seconds to ring. The record stands to the name of past staff member, Greg Miller, with a time of 19.8 seconds. He is one of very few who have beaten the clock.[2]

Robert Selley Memorial Concert: The Selley Concerts were inaugurated in 1986 in conjunction with the Founder's Day celebrations. The Selley Concerts recognises the contributions Robert Selley made to the school's music department. The event is hosted annually in the Feathermarket Centre, on the second Wednesday evening in May. The Grey Symphonic Winds, conducted by Grey High's Director of Music, Shawn Lyon, performs first, wearing the "reds" uniform.[3]

The Old Grey Band is included in the evening's program usually every second year, and consists of old Greys of any age with musical experience who wish to be part of the show. The last time the Old Grey Band took to the stage was in 2015. The Grey Junior School Concert Band, conducted by Jeff Taylor, forms part of the show. The Grey Voices represents the school's choir, for which Ruth Lyon is the teacher and conductor. The Grey String Orchestra precedes the Grey Orchestra and is conducted by Marliza Taylor. The Grey Orchestra is the final ensemble to perform under the direction of Shawn Lyon. The concert concludes with the school song, "The Grey".[4]

Trooping the Colour: Ceremony performed by senior members of the Cadet Detachment, mostly matrics. First performed in 1938.

The house system at Grey High School has a combination of day scholar houses and boarding scholar houses. There are five day-boy houses and two boarder houses, although the boarder houses are collectively seen as one house known as Meriway. The houses compete against each other in events which include academics for points for the Inter House Shield.

The school offers 13 sports: athletics, rugby, hockey, rowing, swimming, water polo, cricket, tennis, squash, air-rifle shooting, golf, basketball and cross-country. Association football is not offered.[6]

• Mark Bartels, CEO of StumbleUpon
• Curwin Bosch, South Africa Under-20 and Sharks rugby player
• Johan Botha, South African cricketer
• David Callaghan, South African cricketer
• Mike Catt, former England rugby player
• Rear Admiral (JG) Derek Christian, Commandant of the South African Military Academy
• Roy Dryburgh, Springbok rugby player and captain
• Cliff Drysdale, 1972 US Open Tennis doubles champion as well as a number of other singles and doubles championships; represented South Africa in the Davis Cup
• Rory Duncan, former Free State Cheetahs rugby player, current Director of Rugby and Currie Cup head coach
• JJ Engelbrecht, Vodacom Blue Bulls and Springbok rugby player[8]
• David Fanning, executive producer of the multiple award-winning Frontline, the longest running documentary investigative show in the United States
• Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons, leading herpetologist and Director of the Transvaal Museum
• Wayne Graham, South Africa hockey, 1996 Olympic games[9]
• Rear Admiral Robert Higgs, Flag Officer Fleet, South African Navy[10]
• Ian Howell, International cricket umpire
• Steven Hunt, South African Rugby 7s player
• Barry Jordan, M.Mus., appointed as organist and choral director of the Magdeburg Cathedral in Germany in August 1994[11]
• Siya Kolisi, DHL Stormers and Springbok rugby captain[12][13]
• Paul Lavender, South African artist[14]
• David Maynier, South African parliamentarian, shadow minister of defence
• Atholl Henry McKinnon, former South African cricketer[15]
• David Nosworthy, South African cricketer and coach of the Nashua Titans, Highveld Lions and Canterbury Wizards
• Wayne Parnell, South African cricketer, Warriors cricket player and South African U19 Cricket Captain
• Kevin Paul, swimmer, gold medalist at the 2008 Summer Paralympics for men's 100m breaststroke SB9, breaking the world record
• Sergeal Petersen, South Africa Under-20 and Free State Cheetahs rugby player
• Junior Pokomela, South Africa Under-20 and Free State Cheetahs rugby player
• Graeme Pollock, former South African cricketer
• Peter Pollock, former South African cricketer
• Jan Serfontein, Bulls and Springbok rugby player
• Lutho Sipamla, South African cricketer
• Barry Smith, Organist Emeritus, St George's Cathedral, Cape Town; former Associate Professor, Faculty of Music, UCT
• Rory Stear, founder of Freeplay Energy; member of the executive committee of the council of the Schwab Foundation for Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs, which is affiliated with the World Economic Forum
• Pieter Strydom, South African cricketer
• Rusty Theron, South African and USA international cricketer
• Michael van Vuuren, Bath Rugby and former South Africa Under-20 rugby player
• Keanu Vers, South African schools national rugby team, South Africa national under-20 rugby union team and Eastern Province Kings player
• Jeremy Ward, South Africa Under-20 and Sharks rugby player
• Luke Watson, former Springbok rugby player, former Western Province, Stormers and Eastern Province Kings captain
• Tim Whitehead, former Natal Sharks, Western Province, and Eastern Province Kings rugby player
• Eric Lloyd Williams, journalist and war correspondent
• Peter Williams, South African former Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer who set a world record in the 50-metre freestyle

The Grey Cycle Tour 2008 was a cycle around the country of South Africa completed by seven students from Grey High School. All the funds raised went to the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa (CHOC). The idea of the Grey Cycle Tour was to include young people in the fight against cancer. The total distance traveled was 2300 km. In total, R580,000 was raised.

The school was featured in the second episode of the Australian Seven Network's version of the TV show The World's Strictest Parents.[16]

• Markman, Ivor (21 January 2008). "Joyous welcome as fundraising cyclists return to Grey". The Herald Online. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
• Top 20 Schools in Africa

• Official website