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Interview with Dave Smith – Staff – 1997 to date
Dave came to St David’s from Bryanston High School in 1997 as head of the Geography department. His
first impression of the school was that it was very small having come from a big co-ed high school with
1300 pupils to teach two matric classes with 5 pupils in one and 12 in the other whereas Bryanston had
three classes with 30 pupils in each. Currently 60 to 70 pupils take Geography as a matric subject which
shows the growth in the number of pupils attending the school.
Paul Edey was the headmaster and together with Kevin Brewer, chairman of the board, motivated the
development plan for the school. At the time the quad housed an ablution block and the pavilion was a
Zozo hut! The school wasn’t very competitive apart from cricket but is now very competitive and is in the
top echelon of the pantheon of boys’ schools.
The leadership programme has grown enormously. In 1997 Dave took all the matrics to a camp in the
Magaliesburg and now there are camps for every grade. The camp, specifically for the prefects with the
main focus on leadership has also grown and now any matric can get a leadership scroll other than
prefects. Thirty two matrics in 2012 received leadership scrolls.
Dave was appointed housemaster of College house in 2000 and senior deputy headmaster in 2003
overseeing student affairs and school administration. He is also editor of the school magazine and sees not
just the physical changes in the school but in the number of pupils and the range of activities on offer. St
David’s has become one of the top boys’ schools worldwide with the vision that was created by Paul Edey
and continued by Malcolm Williams. However the school does have an achilles heel, rugby.
Dave believes St David’s to be an incredibly happy school with the boys having their own identity. There is
a sense of tradition and what makes a good tradition. One regret Dave has is that he gave up mentoring
the matrics when he became deputy headmaster.
On the staff, the characters he has encountered include the likes of Rod Smith, Belinda Marais and Annika
Carter to name but a few. Malcolm William’s concept of “Presence” has been unbelievable and the energy
he put into everything he did.
JLE December 2013