DURBAN - Somerset College staff and pupils are reeling in shock after a young rowing coach - an alumnus of the college - died when he was struck by lightning at the weekend.
Nicholas Whaits, 19, who matriculated in 2017 at the school, and pupil William Macdonald, 14, were participating as part of a team in a national rowing regatta when lightning struck at Germiston Lake, in Gauteng, on Saturday.
Macdonald is recovering at Sunward Park Netcare Hospital in Boksburg.
The other members of the rowing team returned to Cape Town on Saturday evening, and were received by parents and staff, who offered them their support.
Sports and Recreation Minister Tokozile Xasa said: “We are saddened by the passing away of Mr Whaits who was a coach to William. I would like to pass my condolences to the family and friends of Mr Whaits, as well as to the rowing community and the entire sporting family. And to wish William a speedy recovery.”
Yesterday Somerset College, an independent co-educational school in Somerset West, held a memorial assembly honouring Whaits.
All flags on the campus flew at half-mast, with members of the Somerset College community invited to wear black armbands as a sign of mourning and in solidarity with the bereaved.
Support was also offered to students, alumni, parents and staff by the college’s trauma counsellors and Student Development Unit.
Addressing the memorial assembly, Somerset College executive head Graham Sayer said: “Nicholas’s legacy of fun and belonging is one which we will cherish. We extend our sincere condolences and love to Nicholas’s family in this time of pain and loss. They are a family renowned for their contribution to our school and we will continue to lift them up in our thoughts and prayers.”
Whaits would be remembered as an “intelligent, kind and genuine person who took delight in mentoring younger students”, said the school.
Whaits’s younger brother is in Grade 11 at Somerset College.