If one considers the examination results, the sustained sport and cultural achievements; when one communicates with Old Greys, pupils, staff and parents, one comes to realise that something of great value exists here. WA de Klerk, wrote the following on his way back to Cape Town after spending 5 years at Grey: "I have become very quiet. In this silence, also very grateful, that I could spend these years in the Free State, among people of such fineness and substance: DEO GRATIAS...”

And Laurens van der Post, after his last visit to Grey, wrote: 'There was such a very, very, special feeling which I am certain no other school in the world has. I think it is very largely because this school itself was founded so near to the European beginnings of the Orange Free State and has clung, like wisteria to a wall, to the spirit and intentions which made George Grey launch it from his own private purse. I think that act of reconciliation, implicit with a vision of a South Africa enlarged and at one which was present so clearly at the beginning is always there as a kind of translucent something in the air."

But the magic that is Grey, the difference it makes in the lives of all stakeholders, is under serious threat due to a lack of funds.

We cannot become complacent about this school and the tremendous influence it exerts. Funds must be generated, if Grey wants to remain relevant (and it must!).

We simply have to keep the best educators at Grey and have to draw the best to teach and coach and especially educate, the Grey boys.

Teachers from Grey are lured to the private sector and to private schools and the school has very little say in the appointment of educators. The only alternative is to recruit teachers and to have the school pay them.

It has, therefore, been decided to launch the GREY COLLEGE FOUNDATION, on the historical 150th birthday of Grey.

The GREY COLLEGE FOUNDATION will have trustees from outside the normal school structures so as to ensure independence and will have to allocate funds according to strict guidelines. Contributions will carry tax benefits.

All Old Greys are living testimony to the positive role of Grey in their lives - now is the hour to show your love, respect, concern and gratitude for a magnificent institution!

Your contribution can be made on a monthly, quarterly, annual basis and by means of your will and testament. This will ensure that Grey does not drown in a sea of mediocrity. Words of praise, a healthy sentiment and nostalgia are part of the birthday celebrations, but that is not sufficient.

The Founder's Day celebrations have never been used to raise funds. But the school is in the midst of a radically different scenario which could easily lead to Grey being just another school (which it has never been!).