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Be light to others

Having walked the hard road, Buger Nel is big on building resilience through sport.

A letter to the Hilton community following reports about Hilton College and an alleged land claim. DOWNLOAD LETTER

Response from the chairman of our board and headmaster to BusinessLive article "Court Opens Door to Zuma Clan’s Hilton College Land Claim," published on 3 March 2025. DOWNLOAD PDF

Hilton College excels at IEB and Cambridge Hilton College’s 2024 matriculants obtained a 100% pass rate and produced outstanding results. Hilton College boys scored an average of 2.6 distinctions per candidate and ranked among the top IEB scholars in the country and the top Cambridge scholars in the world. Of the school’s 116 matric candidates, [...]

Our inaugural Impact Report showcases the transformative power of philanthropy at Hilton College. Our magnificent estate and most of our physical assets were gifted to us, and countless men have been gifted a Hilton College education. Let us continue to “pay it forward” to ensure that Hilton College remains a national asset and a priceless [...]

26 January 2024 Dear Hiltonians, This newsletter sets out some ideas that I aim to focus on this year, in thinking about Hilton College and our role in the lives of the families we serve. It is long and covers a range of ideas. My hope is that you find a few minutes to indulge [...]

Class of 2023 does us proud Hilton College’s class of 2023 produced an excellent set of matric results, achieving a 100% pass rate and a record number of distinctions per candidate. Of the school’s 118 matric candidates, 102 wrote the IEB examinations and 16 sat the full Cambridge A Levels. Unlike most schools in its [...]

Rise above the rest

When Sipho Moniwa went to St Stithians College on a bursary at the start of Grade 8, it was with the loving support of a poor community

Mbanjwa rises in the ranks at AmaZulu FC Hilton College is proud to announce that our Director of Soccer, Mr Celo Mbanjwa, has been promoted to the position of Co Youth Technical Director at AmaZulu Football Club. Mr Mbanjwa, who has been working for the club as the Youth Technical Advisor since February last year, [...]

6 June 2019 Your perspective, the way you see things, will very often determine your success. Perspective after all determines your attitude and your attitude your motivation to achieve. In sport (and life) this can be directly applied to the competition arena when facing a bigger, stronger opponent. This scenario can be viewed from two [...]

22 May 2019 Recently, I have been encouraged to read some excellent articles published by schools and various other commentators defending the cause of school boy sport. Not least of these was the article published by our own headmaster, Mr George Harris, about winning. His article has been shared far and wide and has sparked [...]

3 May 2019 My highlight this past weekend was having the opportunity to watch the U16C rugby team play against Northwood. This match was a particular high point as it marked the return to sport of a brave young man named Avu Zondi. Avu’s sport story is a heart-wrenching one. Having come to Hilton as [...]

21 March 2019 This extract is adapted from a previous article that I wrote in 2017. I took the liberty of doing so as I feel that this is a well-timed piece for us to ponder as we go into the Hilton versus Michaelhouse winter sport day. Whilst one may use the term derby or [...]

15 March 2019 You have to watch this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDeBOkGbvvE   No writing could better explain the impact that generosity makes. It has the power to transform our perspective from, “us and them”, to just “us”. Generosity gives us purpose and, according to research, it even makes us happier people. Read https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/meditation-modern-life/201712/study-shows-generous-behavior-leads-increased-happiness Selfishly, I love what [...]

8 March 2019 Last week I had the privilege of attending the SA Rowing Championships at Roodeplaat Dam, just outside Pretoria. This massive event attracts passionate boys and girls and their coaches, parents and supporters from all over the country. It’s an “all-in” kind of a sport, which demands absolute dedication from all involved. As [...]

15 February 2019 Recently, we have been focussing on leadership in sports, something which is in line with our thrust at Hilton to up-skill and motivate our team captains. Inspired by the book “Captains Class”, this week our focus is on servant leadership. An excellent example of this type of leadership, illustrated in the book, [...]

26 January 2024 Dear Hiltonians, This newsletter sets out some ideas that I aim to focus on this year, in thinking about Hilton College and our role in the lives of the families we serve. It is long and covers a range of ideas. My hope is that you find a few minutes to indulge [...]

16 May 2023 Dear Hiltonians, Someone thanked me the other day, and it fed my soul. This simple act of kindness, expressed in words of gratitude, lifted my spirit and invigorated my being. Encouraging and affirming, it directed my focus towards that which is positive; it afforded me an opportunity to bask a little in [...]

8 March 2023 Dear Parents, Dreaming The art of dreaming cannot become extinct. It is, however, being squeezed into the recesses of our collective lives through busyness, unbridled ambition, the relentless pursuit of one-upmanship, and a paralysing concern for our futures. I find, as a South African in the business of growing young people, that [...]

1 February 2023 Dear Parents, I watched an “unfortunate” run out in an U14 cricket match on Saturday.  Our two batsmen were both distraught in the realisation of their predicament… an avoidable error, but, as is always the case with cricket, it brought an abrupt end to the dream of a glorious 50-run innings and [...]

25 January 2023 Dear Parents, Our matric results from the class of 2022 are a wonderful accolade for us to add to the successes of our 150th year. I salute every teacher who spent hours and hours in dedicated teaching of our boys and every boy who put his shoulder to the wheel to achieve [...]

29 November 2022 Dear Parents and Guardians, Our 150th year has reached its conclusion and what a celebration it has been. Thank you for partnering with us and for encouraging and supporting us through the highs and lows, the successes and the struggles. It continues to be a singular privilege to lead this great school [...]

23 November 2022 Dear Parents and Guardians, Discipline matters A disciplined life is a life of great resource. The journey towards a life lived with a value-set that reflects that which we believe makes a gentleman and an upright citizen is not necessarily an easy one, especially against the backdrop of a society that seems [...]

25 October 2022 Dear Parents and Guardians, Cellphones! Since announcing, at Speech Day, that we would be “banning” cellphones after half-term, I have received many emails from parents – both for and against the initiative. I knew it would spark debate amongst our boys, but I am slightly intrigued at the level of debate it [...]

Pinnacles An anthology of English creative writing by Hilton College boys over the past year Pinnacles 2024 is an anthology of English creative writing by Hilton College boys over the past year. We invite you to sit down with a cup of tea and this year's collection of work and celebrate the “greatest of human [...]

Hilton College excels at IEB and Cambridge Hilton College’s 2024 matriculants obtained a 100% pass rate and produced outstanding results. Hilton College boys scored an average of 2.6 distinctions per candidate and ranked among the top IEB scholars in the country and the top Cambridge scholars in the world. Of the school’s 116 matric candidates, [...]

Pinnacles An anthology of English creative writing by Hilton College boys over the past year Pinnacles 2023 is an anthology of English creative writing by Hilton College boys over the past year. The boys who have been brave enough to write this year, or those who have written because it was a required task but [...]

Class of 2023 does us proud Hilton College’s class of 2023 produced an excellent set of matric results, achieving a 100% pass rate and a record number of distinctions per candidate. Of the school’s 118 matric candidates, 102 wrote the IEB examinations and 16 sat the full Cambridge A Levels. Unlike most schools in its [...]

Grade 11 learner William Kitching has been selected to represent South Africa at the United Space School (USS) at NASA in Houston, USA. William, who is one of only two learners countrywide to have been chosen, is the second Hilton College boy to represent South Africa at the USS in two years; last year Ben [...]

High recognition for Hilton’s Director of International Learning Hilton College is proud to announce the appointment of our Director of International Learning, Dr Alexei du Bois, as the Heimbecker Inspiration Chair for Experiential Education for 2023-4. Dr Du Bois will take a sabbatical next year and be based in Canada while he serves as Heimbecker [...]

Old Hiltonian Marcus Montague-Mfuni (2018, Falcon) has been named a Southern African Rhodes Scholar elect for 2023 Old Hiltonian Marcus Montague-Mfuni (2018, Falcon) has been named a Southern African Rhodes Scholar elect for 2023. One of only 10 outstanding young graduates from Southern Africa to be selected a Rhodes Scholars-Elect for this year, Marcus (22) [...]

Class of 2022 produces excellent matric results Hilton College is proud of the outstanding results produced by our 2022 matric learners. The class of 2022 achieved a 100% pass rate and several boys achieved exceptional results. Of the school’s 113 matric candidates, 87 wrote the IEB examinations and 26 sat the full Cambridge A Levels. [...]

Hilton hosts top artists This week, Hilton College hosted four renowned, highly collectable and internationally recognized South African artists on campus. The Grade 12 "Artist in the Classroom Workshop" featured Nandipha Mntambo (photography and sculpture), Blessing Ngobeni (collage artist), Bambo Sibiya (printmaking, acrylic and charcoal artist) and Mbali Tshabalala (mixed media artist). Joining our boys [...]

This promises to be a culturally rich term with the boys involved in a wide variety of activities. The Debating Society has already participated in two league fixtures. I am delighted with the number of Grade 8 boys who have signed up for debating. The various skills they learn will stand them in good stead [...]