The final flame: matrics honour a 61-year legacy

There are moments in a school’s life that transcend routine milestones and become part of its enduring story. For the matric class of 2025 at King David High School Victory Park, the final year of school was such a moment. The Grade 12s weren’t just completing their academic journey and preparing for their final matric examinations, they were doing so as the last matric class of a school with a proud 61-year history. In this singular role, they held a myriad feelings and emotions, and carried both the weight and “unsought privilege” of closing a remarkable chapter. 

The announcement that the school would be closing at the end of 2025 arrived during an already demanding year. It came just a week prior to the preliminary examinations in early August. The news shook the entire school and had an impact on each person in the community – students, parents, grandparents, staff – both present and past. It stirred a range of emotions: anger; sadness; uncertainty; disbelief; and a deep sense of loss. This wasn’t merely the closing of a building, but an impending farewell to a place that had shaped identity, values, friendships, and memories for many decades. Within its walls lived the stories of generations: great alumni, inspiring educators, cherished traditions, and a shared rhythm of Jewish life that had quietly but powerfully grounded the community for more than six decades. 

The final matric cohort was to become the custodian of that legacy. 

Faced with emotional upheaval alongside academic pressure, these students responded with extraordinary focus and dedication. They chose to rise. Like a final flame burning steadily in the wind, they committed themselves fully to their studies, determined to honour the years of learning, values, and expectations entrusted to them. Their grit was visible in long hours of preparation, disciplined routines, and determination to persevere even when the emotional load felt heavy. 

When their grit was tested, resilience stepped in. Resilience allowed them to adjust, regain balance, and continue forward without losing sight of what mattered. It was resilience shaped by personal strength and the culture of the school itself, rooted in responsibility, reflection, and hope. 

Throughout this journey, the partnership between students and teachers was profound. The educators and staff who guided this final cohort did so with exceptional care and commitment. Also profoundly affected by the school’s closure, they continued to bring their deep subject knowledge, passion, and an unwavering belief in their students’ potential to the fore. More than that, they understood the significance of their role in this moment. Their students needed them now more than ever. They were teaching not just a class, but the final guardians of a proud legacy. 

Teachers tried to model calm in uncertainty, excellence in effort, and compassion in challenge. They embodied values the school had long held dear: dedication to learning and excellence; respect for the individual; and a belief in the power of education to shape not only minds, but character. 

Woven gently through the fabric of school life was a strong lived Jewish identity. Rites of passage such as the matric dance – a highlight that embraced coming together and celebration of the most memorable kind – and then the valedictory prize giving ceremony reminded students of continuity beyond circumstance, of belonging to something larger than themselves. 

The school’s love for Israel, long a defining element of its ethos, offered connection and pride in a difficult year, and a reminder of shared history, resilience, and the enduring idea of hope carried forward across generations. 

Equally defining was the way students supported one another. In a year that could easily have fractured under pressure, this cohort chose unity. They rallied around each other, celebrating strengths and achievements, while patiently tending to obstacles and vulnerabilities. Like a community tending a shared garden, they ensured that everyone had the space and support to grow. 

Behind every examination paper lay a personal story of effort, doubt, determination, and growth. Some faced academic challenges, others emotional ones; some carried quiet anxieties, others visible responsibilities. Yet every student committed to achieving the very best she or he could, measured not solely by outcomes, but by integrity, perseverance, and self-belief. 

As the final cohort, they were deeply aware of those who had come before them – the alumni whose footsteps had shaped the corridors, the traditions repeated year after year, the stories told and retold. They understood that their task wasn’t to replicate the past, but to honour it. In the way they approached their studies, supported one another, and upheld the values instilled in them, they did exactly that. 

As the final examinations took place, the metaphor of light at the end of the tunnel became real. What once felt uncertain began to take shape. When they entered the examination venues, they carried with them more than academic preparation. There was a sense of calm and acceptance. They carried the strength of a community, the guidance of dedicated teachers, and the grounding of a values-based education that had shaped them over years. 

Beyond the tunnel lay not only the relief of completion, but the promise of flowering. Though the school’s physical doors may close, its spirit doesn’t end here. It lives on in these students – in how they think, act, connect, and how they lead. 

They will go on to universities, professions, communities, and families, carrying with them the light kindled within these walls. Their legacy will not be defined by being the last, but by being the continuation. Through them, the school’s values, traditions, and quiet strength will find new expression, far beyond the classrooms where they were first nurtured. 

In rising above challenge and change, this final matric cohort showed that endings can be deeply meaningful beginnings. They leave having honoured the past with dignity and purpose; and they step into the future as bearers of a legacy 61 years in the making, a legacy that will continue to shine through them. 

• Mandy Gruzd was the head of school at King David High School Victory Park. She is now a senior deputy head at King David High.