Michaelhouse was described by AM Barrett, in a previous history, as once amounting to a ‘handful of boys on a dusty street in a small town’, a far cry from the magnificent 680-hectare site in Balgowan with a world-class programme and facilities that constitutes the School of today.

And nobody is better placed to characterise that journey, the transformation of Michaelhouse into a great school with a rich heritage, than Gary Ralfe: Senior Prefect of 1962, Old Boy of stellar academic capability, Cambridge graduate and captain of indus- try, Chairman of the Michaelhouse Board from 2008 to 2016 and benefactor – indeed, a man who has had a profound influence in shaping the modern Michaelhouse.

Through his extensive research, insight, and instinctive love for Michaelhouse, the deep friendships and the unique contributions of many and the triumphs and difficulties of the past 125 years have been made accessible. The crafting of this book, the clarity of its structure and a story so beautifully told, has been an immense labour of love.

Old Boys and all who cherish Michaelhouse are profoundly grateful to the author, as the book evokes a sense of pride in all who have walked its cloisters, quads and fields. In Stars of the Morning, he has rekindled a sense of the School’s Christian heritage and the fulfilment of the intentions of the founder, James Cameron Todd.