The Boy in You by Marguerite Poland

(A Biography of St Andrew’s College 1855 – 2005)

When the eminent South African academic and politician, J H Hofmeyr, was invited to address the boys of St Andrew’s College in 1929 he said, ‘I hope that you will always be true to the boy in you.’ The wisdom of this statement is profound because whoever you are, whatever your station in life, there still resides in you the experience of your youth.

It is because of the boys who lived their formative years at St Andrew’s College that this book has been written – to honour a particular time in their lives and the extraordinary loyalty that they continue to demonstrate towards their school.

The Boy in You vividly captures the life story of one of South Africa’s great historic schools. It is an educational biography of a fascinating and enduring institution. Challenged since 1855 by the harsh and fluctuating environment of the Eastern Cape and South Africa, many of the headmasters, staff, and boys of this boarding school have played significant roles both nationally and internationally.

The book is far more than a formal history of a school – it breathes life into succeeding generations of Andrean boys and staff over 150 years. It is a human drama worth the telling. ‘College’ is a place of profound memory and belonging, one which remains vivid in the landscape of the heart.

Dr. Marguerite Poland weaves a compelling narrative of boyhood that is at once universal and particular. The school’s story reflects several years of meticulous archival research as well as hundreds of living memories from Old Andreans – both in writing and in face-to-face interviews.

The book is a towering monument to the school – as lofty as the Clock Tower which is such a hallmark of the College.