Robert de Morney (left) and Sibusiso Nkosi
have come from the townships and taken Jeppe
Boys High School by storm.
Sibusiso Nkosi (17) Mornay (15) of Middelburg,
joined Jeppe after receiving the Clive Hatch Education Scholarship in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
The teenagers have risen from the dust of the townships to become two of the school’s top rugby players.
Nkosi, a grade 11 pupil, played wing for the school’s first team in the 2013 season, and was an important member of the u/18 Golden Lions team that narrowly lost to Western Province in the final of the Coca-Cola Craven Week in July.
“We are extremely proud of what Sibusiso has achieved, especially considering that he would never have had a chance to get such a high quality education if it weren’t for this scholarship,” said Jeppe recruitment officer Ronald White.
Nkosi achieved full rugby colours from the school at the end of the season, has excelled on the athletics field and is an above average academic achiever, White said.
“We are very blessed to have him here for another year,” White added.
De Mornay represented the Jeppe under 15A team which lost just one game in 2013, and scored five tries, including the only try in the losing effort against Afrikaanse Hoer Seunskool (Affies).
The under 15 age group at Jeppe has six teams, while the open age group has seven.
The Clive Hatch Education Scholarship was founded by Jeppe Old Boy and former Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance in Mpumalanga, Clive Hatch.
A scholarship fund has been established to assist financially disadvantaged boys from Mpumalanga, who despite difficult and challenging circumstances have shown a will to succeed.
Each scholarship fully covers tuition fees for each academic year, which for five years of high school education for boarders at Jeppe, costs about R325 000.
“This has been an incredibly selfless and generous act by Mr Hatch. This is not just a once off act of kindness but a huge commitment in that it provides an entire education for these boys,” said Jeppe Vice-Principal Dale Jackson.
“Sibusiso and Robert are now repaying this generosity magnificently through their academic and sporting achievements,” said Jackson.
Jackson said that Hatch had voiced an intention to expand the scholarship in the future.
Jeppe is the oldest public school in Johannesburg and is ranked amongst the top twenty high schools in South Africa. - The Write News Agency
