The headmaster of St Andrew’s College, Paul Edey, has announced that the Selection Committee of the St Andrew’s College/DSG Rhodes Scholarship has selected David Brian Springer as the scholar-elect for 2011.
The headmaster of St Andrew’s College, Paul Edey, has announced that the Selection Committee of the St Andrew’s College/DSG Rhodes Scholarship has selected David Brian Springer as the scholar-elect for 2011.
David matriculated from St Andrew’s College in 2005 with a full house of distinctions and was admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Mechatronics with First Class Honours from the University of Cape Town (UCT).
He was awarded Academic Honours at school, numerous subject prizes and the Antony Clark Plate for being the most impressive all-rounder. He went on to UCT to garner many accolades, including the Warden’s Academic Prize, admission to the Golden Key Society and listing every year of his degree on the Dean’s Merit List.
Under the tutelage of Chris Terry, he excelled on the bagpipes and was the second recipient of CEMA Honours for Pipe Band in the history of St Andrew’s College. He was Pipe Major of the College Pipe Band, and has gone on to join the Cape Town Highlanders.
In 2006 he was crowned the South African Junior Solo Bagpipe Champion. Subsequently, he has performed as the Lone Piper at the Basel Military Tattoo in Switzerland, the Jinhae International Military Festival in South Korea and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland.
David was awarded Colours for hockey and has been awarded three bronze medals for the Cape Argus Cycle Tour and a silver medal in the Two Oceans Half Marathon.
While at school, David was a prefect and the second head of Merriman House. He has been extensively involved in the coordination and coaching of hockey and maths tutoring with SHAWCO while in Cape Town.
David’s passion is Biomedical Engineering with particular interest in the control of robotic prostheses. His focus is on the designing of low cost medical monitoring equipment which can be accessible to underprivileged people throughout Africa.
David is currently reading for an MSc in Biomedical Engineering at Oxford University, and will use the Rhodes Scholarship to complete his DPhil.
"He is an extraordinary young man with an infectious personal energy and positive outlook on life. His charming modesty belies a brilliant intellect and an unwavering resolve. He is a deeply compassionate humanitarian who invests himself fully in society and in meaningful relationships The St Andrew’s College and DSG Community warmly congratulate David on this momentous achievement and will follow his career at Oxford University with great interest and admiration," said Eley.
How the scholarship came about
When Cecil John Rhodes founded his world-wide scholarship scheme in 1902, he selected four South African schools as part of that scheme. The schools are St Andrew's College in Grahamstown, Bishops and SACS in Cape Town and Paul Roos in Stellenbosch.
The Rhodes Scholarship generously funds study at Oxford University, where the fees are around £25 000 per year. One has to be a very strong academic to be selected as a Rhodes Scholar, but the scholarship also has three other sets of criteria: leadership and character, community involvement and sporting achievement.
Any boy or girl who has studied for a minimum of three terms at St Andrew's College is eligible to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship after completing a university degree. The person selected is the scholar elect and recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship.
See http://www.sacschool.com/193/rhodes-scholarship.html for more info.
