The South African boys’ school that produced two World Rugby players of the year

King Edward VII School (KES)  in Johannesburg produced two out of the four South Africans who have been named World Rugby Player of the Year: Bryan Habana and Malcolm Marx. 

Lightning-quick Winger for the Springboks, Habana won the accolade in 2007 for his performance at the Rugby World Cup. He was the second South African to ever claim the award, after Schalk Burger in 2004. 

Habana graduated from KES in 2000 and has returned to the school to visit and inspire students since.

In November 2025, Marx became the fourth South African to be crowned World Rugby’s Player of the Year, and the second King Edward’s graduate.

The double Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok Hooker matriculated from King Edward’s in 2012.

Speaking to the Rosebank Killarney Gazette, former U14 coach Tutty Faber, who retired from KES in 2021, said that both Marx and Habana were strong and talented players from the beginning. 

“As a junior, [Marx] was considerably better than Bryan Habana, but Bryan was a U13 boy when I coached him,” he said. 

“As a coach, you always hope your charges will attain the highest level they can reach.”

Adding to the school’s achievements for the year, SA School Sports recently ranked KES as the top boys’ sports school in the country for 2025. 

The organisation has been ranked among the top sports schools in South Africa for nearly 20 years, providing a clear reflection of its sporting excellence.

The rankings are based on the school’s wins and losses in rugby, cricket, football, hockey, water polo, basketball and athletics, with a double weighting for rugby, regarded as the most popular boys’ sport.

KES has climbed to the top position after placing sixth in the 2024 rankings. 

Legacy, leadership and loyalty

King Edward VII School was founded in 1902 in a vacant cigar factory in Johannesburg. The school was originally named “The Government High School for Boys” or the “Johannesburg High School for Boys.”

It expanded quickly, moving to the former mansion of mining magnate Barney Barnato by 1904. It moved to its ultimate home on the Houghton Ridge in 1911, with buildings specifically designed for the school that have become provincial heritage sites. 

The school was founded shortly after the Union of South Africa, and King Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria, passed away. The school was granted permission to name the school in his memory. 

KES continued to grow throughout its early years. It became the school with the highest number of fallen soldiers from outside of Great Britain from the two World Wars. 

“Alumni have fought for freedom and democracy in South Africa and for justice throughout the world,” the school said. 

Today, the school has an enrolment of over 1,000 boys and has remained a top government school throughout its long existence. 

“We strive to nurture our pupils. To help them develop to the best of their ability, and to guide their growing minds towards high ideals as they take charge of their own lives,” said Headmaster David Lovatt.

The school nurtures its students based on the principles of holistic education, believing that sporting and other extramural activities teach what cannot be learnt in the classroom – legacy, leadership and loyalty. 

According to the headmaster, the spirit and camaraderie that King Edward VII School engenders in its students is what really sets it apart from most schools. 

The school has a strong focus on maintaining a close-knit, supportive community. In 2025, it began its inaugural Old Boys Internship programme, placing 25 talented matriculants from the 2024 class into companies across the Old Boys Network. 

Many of these matriculants were facing a tough future with limited access to tertiary education and few job prospects. From the programme’s first year, 16 interns have now secured permanent employment.

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