In a few week’s time we will be saying goodbye to the Bechet family. Mr Mike Bechet, his wife Cathy, and their twins, Marc and James, have become part of the Jeppe family for the last 10 years and we are going to miss them enormously.

Mike is a larger than life figure who’s role and impact at Jeppe has been described in various places lately and no more needs to be said on that. In recent weeks there have been incidents that attest to what he has meant to the boys at Jeppe. Apart from the massive response to social media postings like this one, there have been gestures like the hanging on his gate on Saturday of a shirt signed by all the members of the U15A cricket team. There will be more of that in the next week or two, for sure.

Cathy has been running our finance office with strict efficiency and the twins have been a smiling presence around the school, coaching and umpiring and helping out in many different ways.

Looking back, it’s been a happy 10 years at Jeppe, Mike said. “I’ll always be grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given and to the community for embracing us as a family, especially my twins. I have met and worked with some great boys and look forward to keeping in touch with them.”

Mike stresses that, while his role at Jeppe has come to an end, he is not going into retirement. “I’m returning to an old hunting ground, Pietermaritzburg, and I’m available to work with kids in the cricket and hockey space, wherever I’m wanted,” he said.

They’d be crazy down there not to take him up on that – in fact some already have – there won’t be any settling down into retirement for Mike Bechet any time soon.

Goodbye the Bechets, thank you for all you have meant to Jeppe High School for Boys.