An Evening with St. John's College at the South African Embassy

Article by Elsa Lawlor-Gazzea (09.10.2025)

On the 8th of October 2025, the South African embassy hosted an event to commemorate the ongoing visit of eight South African students and their teacher from St. John’s College in Mthatha, South Africa to Berlin as a part of the South Africa Exchange Program. The evening was one of intercultural exchange and entertainment, celebrating the newly-founded relationship between the two schools and their students. The ceremony consisted of a series of addresses by both German and South African students, the new school principal of the Nelson Mandela School Lars Sturm, the ambassador of South Africa to Germany Phumelele Stone Sizani, a teacher of St. John’s College, and more. The entertainment included a poetry reading by a student of St. John’s College and three performances by the Nelson Mandela School Pop Choir headed by Felix Theuner and Elisabeth Baumann. 

A dinner reservation at the “Cafe am Neuen See” and an evening of socializing and pleasant companionship followed the ceremony.

The South Africa Exchange Program is a recently developed project, with this cycle of the visitation being the second exchange between students at the Nelson Mandela School of Berlin and St. John’s College of Mthatha. The project is organised by Nelson Mandela School teachers Christopher Langhans and Paul Curtis, whose hard work and relentless dedication to this project have enabled students to explore valuable international connections and experiences that customarily would have gone unexplored. This year's exchange is centered on SDG Goal 10: “Reduced Inequalities”, with a specific focus on how inequalities affect education. ENSA, an organization which supports partnerships and exchanges between schools in Germany and South Africa/Asia/Latin America, carries the brunt of the funding, covering the costs of food and everyday purchases during the exchange. Flights are paid for separately by students, and in certain cases, funding can even be sourced from the NMS Friends, to support applicants who may not be able to afford the fees.

Our partner school, St. John’s College of Mthatha, is a coeducational secondary school. Nearby Mthatha are the villages of Mvezo and Qunu, where Mandela was born and grew up, respectively. Mthatha is also the location of the Nelson Mandela Museum and the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital. Nelson Mandela and his legacy are an integral aspect of the connection between the two schools. The curriculum at St. John’s focuses intensely on mathematics and science, rendering the STEM capabilities of the students to be of an excellent standard. During the apartheid regime in South Africa, the state actively suppressed the participation of black South Africans in science. A measure by which this was carried out was the active limitation of scientific education in schools, which aimed to keep black citizens in subservient roles, excluding them from the opportunity to obtain high-merit career posts in the scientific field. However, St. John's College continued to teach physics and chemistry during this trying period, exemplifying a true form of resistance against injustice through education. 

As Nelson Mandela once said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. 

This exchange and the evening spent together at the South African embassy was an engaging and enjoyable experience for students, teachers and families alike. Thank you to the students who shared their information on the South African Exchange Program with the Gazette, particularly past participants: Max Dimke (Q3) and Lora Croasdale (Q3). 

The Gazette wishes the South African exchange students and their teacher an amazing time in Berlin. 

To the students of the Nelson Mandela School of Berlin: we wish you many happy memories and valuable experiences. 

May this partnership prosper.