 In cultural events however such as debating and chess, the school's opponents were usually the private schools in the Natal Midlands or the state schools in Pietermaritzburg.Pearse retired at the end of 1965 and Mitchell Lindsay, the former deputy head who had joined the school in 1937 was appointed headmaster.Lindsay's wife, whom he married in 1943 was the former Jean Leiper, also a maths teacher who served the school from 1937 until 1970.