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| Vol 11 December 2013
Greyhound News | 6
K
evin Harris (1967, Finningley) initially
qualified as an electrical engineer at
UKZN before entering the film and
broadcast industry.
His independent career began in 1979
when he was fired by SABC-TV for
ensuring the uncensored broadcast of his
documentary ‘Bara’. The documentary
went behind the scenes of an over-
crowded Baragwanath Hospital and
exposed the medical conditions which
the community were forced to endure.
Since 1994 Kevin has produced and
directed a significant number of South
African feature documentaries on a
range of social and political issues.
Kevin has received numerous local and
international awards.
D
uring May the University of Fort Hare conferred an honorary Doctorate in
Education on John Pampallis (1966, Gillingham), a stalwart of education and
the South African liberation movement. John is currently special advisor to the
Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande.
The citation read at the ceremony said John’s passion for education, justice and
democracy could be seen not only in his writings but also in the activism that
characterised his life. During the 1980s he was in exile in Tanzania, working as a staff
member of the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College, where he taught history and
English, was head of Social Science department as well as deputy vice-principal of the
College.
I
t is exactly 60 years since Halley Stott
(1927, Old Kearsney) founded The Valley
Trust, a concept so radical at the time
that he had difficulty in persuading others
to support his proposals. Unperturbed, he
used his own resources to purchase 150
acres of mountainous land in the Valley
of a Thousand Hills. The Trust remains
a remarkable socio-medical project for
the promotion of health, which combines
practical approaches to nutrition and
medical care.
Nine years after his death, Halley is
remembered as a man of vision and
energy, and for his innovative policies
relating to community participation in
health care, self-help, protection of the
environment, use of local resources,
organic horticulture, agriculture and
stimulation of local markets.
Named after the comet, Halley was the
son of Clement Stott, after whom the
Stott rugby field is named. Clement,
related by marriage to the family of Sir
Liege Hulett, designed the Chapel at
Kearsney on the North Coast and donated
land to establish the new school at
Botha’s Hill. The rugby field was named in
recognition of his benefaction.
PROFESSOR
NIGEL STOTT
F
ollowing in his father’s medical and
community-focussed footsteps, Halley’s
son Nigel (1957, Finningley) was
awarded a CBE for his services to primary
care and general practice medicine in the
United Kingdom. He has now retired and
lives in Swansea, Wales.
DR HALLEY STOTT
A
s guest speaker at the Cape Town
Survivor lunch, Tony Leon (1974,
Pembroke), the founder of the
Democratic Alliance and former leader of
the Opposition, entertained and challenged
his audience.
Tony reminisced about his years at the
school and spoke of the importance of
schools like Kearsney to education in South
Africa and being the key to moving the SA
education system forward.
Earlier this year Tony met sons of his
peers at Kearsney: (from left) Brett (son of
Stephen du Toit, 1974), Rigby (son of David
Clark, 1974), Guy (son of Stephen du Toit,
1974), Josh (son of David Attenborough,
1974), Daniel (son of Jonathan Pons, 1980)
and Neil (son of Michael Lillelund, 1975).
On Tony’s return to the school in April,
he addressed the boys and signed copies
of his recently released third book, ‘
The
Accidental Ambassador, From Parliament to
Patagonia
’, a delightfully humorous and self-
depreciating account of his ambassadorial
years in South America.
Tony is preparing for his 40th reunion next
year with fellow Old Boys Dave Pearse
and Dave Attenborough.
NOTABLE ALUMNI
NOTABLE ALUMNI
TONY LEON
KEVIN HARRIS
JOHN PAMPALLIS
Kearsney LHC Sharks Medical Centre banner advert Oct 2013
STOTT
&
STOTT