Music has transformative powers. Regardless of age, singing a song can improve your mood. The Fairbairn College Choir is an organisation which offers a balance between professional vocal and choral training, whilst remaining focused on the personal development of each of its members.

Participating in the choir offers numerous opportunities for development of the individual, such as cultivating camaraderie, a feeling of well-being, increased brain function, trust in leadership, respect (of self, others and leaders), eye contact, focus, vocal skills, as well as expression through face and body (enhancing communicative skills) and multitasking.

All of the above are extremely important during adolescent development, and the Fairbairn College Choir also offers learners the opportunity to make lifelong friends, through initiatives like the annual choir camp, as well as encouraging professional development by participating in competitions, such as the International Eisteddfod and High School Jam (performed on stage at the Grand West Arena), as well as various school productions.

Music is truly food for the soul and the Fairbairn College choir not only offers prestige but is also a society which is therapeutic in nature. Therefore, we recognise the importance of it in the lives of all our learners and thus welcome singers of all levels – because without music life would quite simply put, be a mistake.

Mr & Ms FBC provide matric learners with the opportunity to become ambassadors for the school. The purpose of this event is to build confidence, build friendships, for the participants to learn more about themselves and team building. The aim of this event is not to identify necessarily the ‘most beautiful’ people, but to have all-rounders taking part, growing as a person and having fun. Matriculates are trained in stage presence and public speaking during this time period. During the competition they take part in 3 sections – informal, creative and formal. Where their personalities need to shine through. Another component of this competition is teaching them how important our community is and they also have to do community service and document the process.

The High School Jam annually ROCKS the GrandWest Grand Arena in August.

10 High Schools. Over 1000 teenage performers. Over 10 000 Friends,

Families and FANS! All gather for the Cape’s favourite High School Music event, each year promising to be even bigger and better than the previous.

Fairbairn College has been included in the finals of this competition for several years as it is an incredible opportunity for learners from the various cultural societies/organisations within the College to come together and produce the most mind-blowing musical extravaganza we can conceive!

The ultimate objective is to unite teenagers, schools and communities through music, entertainment and performance on a world class stage such as the Grand Arena. Simultaneously the teenagers develop self-esteem and self-belief through the support and mentorship of producers, choreographers, facilitators and industry specialists.

MARS MUSIC & YAMAHA MUSIC awards outstanding Individual Prizes for the winning school, as well as the most Outstanding Vocalist, Brass/Stringed/Piano Instrumentalist, Individual Instrumentalist, Guitar/ Bass player and Drum/Percussion Player.

The competition inspires teenagers to believe in themselves and reach their potential and Fairbairn College facilitates this by providing the environment and training within the College’s Cultural Department to produce a show which we are proud to present on a stage which hosts many international performers.

The Fairbairn College yearbook is an annual endeavour which sees a newly appointed editorial team, consisting of Grade 12 learners, creating memorable, valuable content for their peers and the College community.

The editorial team uses and develops various skills throughout the collation of this publication, which will stand them in good stead as they advance to their tertiary studies and/or future careers. These skills/traits include exceptional organization and scheduling, ingenuity, marketing, communication, comprehensive and skilful writing and editing, photography, and compilation skills.

Though the individual learner’s skills are honed through serving on the yearbook committee, it is also an opportunity to interact and gain insight into the diversity of the College student body, hone interpersonal skills and it creates a platform for encouraging lifelong collective learning, sharing and friendships.

The annual yearbook is published in the last quarter of each year.

The Interact Society was named as such because its mission is this: to interact with the larger school community. We recognise the importance of interacting and socialising with our peers at other schools as well as those in our direct community, but always acknowledge that people are people because of other people – caring for ourselves means caring about and for those in the larger community. Interact strives to help whomever may need it – from holding drives for soup and blankets, to repainting and decorating offices of charitable organisations, to spending time with those who simply want someone to talk to or helping cats and dogs who still need a home. Interact is a society with learners who understand that helping yourself starts by helping others.

Photography and Videography club at FBC, where learners get the opportunity to live out their creative side of life.

This club offers the learners an opportunity to get hands on experience in the field of photography, what does a good photo comprise of and the chance of taking part in filming competitions allowing them to put forward their creativity and bring more insight into our everyday life-like situations, exposing real life events that occur across our globe and in our communities.

What gear and skills is required to take part?

• You don’t have to own the latest DLSR model to be a member of this group. If you have a relatively good sensor on your cell phone it should do the trick and a basic point and shoot model. You are welcome to bring your DLSR along.

• You will need access to a computer to load your photos on for i.e. editing purposes, sorting out. You will also need to have a flash-disk in order to load the photos onto the disk.

Debating places questioning, reasoning, critical thinking and logic at the heart of it all. Gaining knowledge is simply the base of great thinking, but without using knowledge to challenge and rise to the occasion when challenged, an academic education can easily falter. Argumentative reasoning is essential at secondary and tertiary education levels, but more importantly it is a skill which empowers learners in the world beyond the walls of formal education. At Fairbairn College the need for critical, swift, logical thinking, as well as confidence and public speaking skills has long been recognised. Therefore, we continue to encourage our learners to participate as a member of the Debating Society.