The College and Sixth Form students and staff gathered in the Rene England Auditorium for a Youth Day Assembly on Friday, 13 June, to reflect on the legacy of the 1976 Soweto Uprising and its relevance today.
Ms Thabisile Mkhize, Deputy Head of Diversity and Transformation in the College, opened the assembly by sharing the story of Tsietsi Mashinini, a name often overlooked next to Hector Pieterson, but one central to the student-led protests of June 16. Mashinini, a student at Morris Isaacson High School, helped organise and lead the march of more than 10 000 students, drawing attention to the inequality and suppression within the apartheid education system.
Ms Mkhize challenged students to reflect on their privilege of access: access to information, to resources and a platform. “You don’t have to wait to be older, richer or more powerful to make change,” she said. “You just need courage, conviction and a hunger for the truth.” She urged students to recognise the inequalities that persist today, from overcrowded classrooms to the legacy of limited opportunity and to think critically and engage purposefully with the world around them.
Pictures: Lesego Makwane (UIV Clayton)
A moving spoken-word piece followed, written and performed by Oliver Bouilliart (LV Clarke), Lesego Legoete (LV Hill) and Hope Ntuli (LV Clayton). These young men challenged silence and complacency, urging young people to work together to shape the present, not just the future.
Remember this:
Youth Day was never just about history.
It was about refusal.
Refusing to be silent.
Refusing to be shaped
By a world that fears our shape.
So let’s rise.
Not like a brand.
Not like a moment.
But like a wave.
We are not the future.
We are the now.
And we are not waiting
To be saved.
Dear Society—
This isn’t your apology.
It’s your warning.
Because the class of ’76
Didn’t die for us to settle.
We must still march.
Still shout.
Still dream.
But this time—
We must dream together.
The assembly concluded with a short video that tied together the past and present, reminding us that Youth Day is not only about remembrance but also about responsibility and the call to act.
"We created various snappy hashtags that encapsulated the beauty of being young in 2025. The results were nothing short of fantastic, with over 70 different quotations being submitted by the students. The power in the Youth lies in their unending ability to defy expectations and rise above the challenges we face. ” — Siza Gule, Head of School.
The Youth Day assembly reminded us that it is not only about remembering those who came before us, but about recognising the power and responsibility that young people carry to shape the world today.