8 August 2025

Dear Parents,

"Do not judge me by my successes judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again" 

Nelson Mandela

At Clifton, we honour the integrity of childhood, embracing the messy, the marvellous, and the meaningful moments that shape our children into resilient, curious, and courageous young people. As we continue our shared journey in nurturing confident, compassionate, and capable children, I would like to offer a gentle reflection, inspired by the Let It Grow Movement, Angela Duckworth’s research on grit, and the insights of psychologist Jonathan Haidt.

We all want to protect our children, to shield them from pain, guide them through struggle, and smooth their path as they grow. But sometimes, in our deep desire to help, we may unintentionally limit the very experiences that help them develop strength, perseverance, and emotional resilience.

Angela Duckworth reminds us that grit, a blend of passion and persistence, is a stronger predictor of success than intelligence or talent. Grit grows when children are allowed to wrestle with challenges, make mistakes, and find their way through. It is strengthened not through perfection but through purposeful struggle, supported by the steady presence of adults who believe in them.

Jonathan Haidt’s recent work, The Anxious Generation, echoes this need for balance. He highlights how children today have fewer opportunities for independent play, real-life problem-solving, and autonomy, all of which are essential for emotional development. When we over-manage or over-protect, we may be feeding their anxiety rather than fortifying their confidence.

At Clifton, we believe that growth is nurtured when children are given the space to try, to fail, to wonder, and to rise. Our values, bravery, intentionality, playfulness, and perseverance, are lived out when we allow our children to experience discomfort, solve small problems on their own, and recover from disappointment with support rather than rescue.

So, how can we best support our children?

Let us trust the process and trust our children, as they learn what it means to be capable and whole. They do not need us to walk every step for them, but they do need us to walk beside them with wisdom and warmth.

This article “ The Fragile Generation” by Lenore Skenazy and Jonathan Haidt  is a worthwhile read and can be accessed by clicking on the link.

Junior Primary and Pre School

We had a great turnout of mums and dads at the recent JP and PS parent talks. The Pre-School session focused on the vital role parents play in stimulating their children during these formative years, laying the foundation for key perceptual skills essential for reading and learning.

We were privileged to have our dedicated team of Speech and Occupational Therapists from Clifton share valuable insights into areas such as auditory perception, sensory systems, gross and fine motor skills, and visual perception. They explored how challenges in these areas may present and how they relate to a child’s overall Pre-School development. The mums and dads were given practical activities to do at home with their children to strengthen these areas of development.

The theme of the morning for the Junior Primary talk was “Let it Grow: Making Childhood Independence Easy and Normal”. This session explored how small shifts in our daily routines and mindset can empower our children to take ownership of their learning, their belongings, and their behaviour. They reflect on the idea that “when adults step back, children step up”, and how too much help, though well-intended, can sometimes stand in the way of children developing courage, responsibility and real-world capability.

Sport

Sport results are announced by the sport captains at Monday assemblies. As our children are involved in a range of sports across the age groups, the reading of results can be long drawn-out affairs. To maintain the focus, particularly for the little ones, only the podium finishes or places in the top 10 will be announced. However, more significant results, perhaps those leading to district or other selection, will also be announced.

Watching our girls play soccer is a first for me, and I have loved seeing their tenacity and skill as well as their sheer joy in the game. One little one even asked her mum to plait her hair “like the professional women players”!  The mums supporting from the side of the field bring a few interesting instructions too, as they coach from the sidelines. This is another opportunity for girls to learn that they can grow into women who will participate in life on an equal footing with men.

This weekend sees our U9-Open boys and girls in action against Howick Prep school. Girls soccer at Howick and Boys Hockey at the Hilton astro. Hilton will be hosting their Arts Festival, and access to the school will require a ticket. Each household has been allocated ONE car ticket, which your son received at school today. This ticket will allow both entry to and exit from Hilton College for the hockey matches tomorrow.

Please ensure you collect the ticket from your son, as we are unable to issue replacements. For information on purchasing additional car entry tickets, please refer to the notification in the app. 

Expressive Arts

The EAC is a hive of activity as the Junior Primary and Grade six classes steam ahead with their play rehearsals. Props and costumes are being made and sourced, acts are coming to life as our thespians become familiar with their lines and moves.

It was a pleasure to host the Clifton Durban choir, marimba band and orchestra this week as they entertained our senior primary to an hour of excellent music. After the performance, our visitors took full advantage of the adventure zone and Lapha, which they seemed to enjoy. Some solid country time for the city kids!

Clifton staff and children have a busy week ahead:

Grade 5 have their trip to Gwahumbe, Grade 6 head to Spionkop and the Grade 7s will spend a morning learning about ceramics and art at Ardmore and Sarah Richards' Sculpting Studio. Dad's or special friends can look forward to an evening with their Grade 0 children on Thursday and next weekend the SP children can join a hike to Grindstone Caves, which will be a special experience. 

Over the past two days, I met with the Grade 6 boys and girls together to cover the following key areas in preparation for high school:

It was a productive and engaging time with the children as they begin to prepare for this important step.

Staff News

We bid farewell to Amogelang Mokobane, one of our valued interns, as he steps away to focus on his family. We are grateful for his contribution and wish him all the very best. At the same time, we are delighted to welcome Keziah Dewing to the Clifton team. Keziah joins us as a Teacher's Assistant in the Junior Primary, and we look forward to the energy and care she will bring to the campus.