Serving as one of the Benoni High School (BHS) Class of 1974 prefects helped Hugh Grantham acquire leadership skills, which became valuable later in his life.
While being on the school’s student body was ‘cool and fun’ and meant he could get ‘away with lots of things’, it forced him to focus more on his studies.
“It started something. When I went to the army, I served in a similar position. Out of my six siblings, I was the only one to serve as a prefect,” he said.
Hugh joined 50 former classmates as they reminisced on their matric year at the BHS class of ‘74 50th reunion at Benoni Country Club on November 30.
Reflecting on his matric year, he explained he achieved a lot of firsts. Being in a leadership position taught him the importance of hard work – a lesson he carried all his life.
“It was an exceptional year because I was forced to work hard. In previous years, I didn’t do well. I had to work quite hard to get to where I am. I broke all the moulds in my family. It was great.”
Dressed to the nines, the former classmates exchanged hugs before sharing memories of their time at the school.
Former netball player Hazel Robson, who is now a netball coach at St Dunstan’s College, said, “We were mainly all girls and got along pretty well for an all-girls class. We played netball, and I played league games. We never lost a game right up to Standard Eight (Grade 10)”.
Hazel’s biggest lesson that year was from one of her teachers who called her into her class and encouraged her to dress like a lady because I was a sloppy dresser.
The reunion would have been more enjoyable for Hazel if her friend Gary Watts, who died when they were only 19, was present.
“Gary was my best friend. We were about 19 when he died and that devastated me,” she said.
For Lynn Jacobs (now Preston), who now lives in George, the school community and Benoni had a good influence on her and she enjoyed mingling with her friends she had not seen in years.
“We had lots of fun. Benoni High was a great school, and there were lots of friendships. This reunion is great because we haven’t seen each other in a long time,” she said.
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