Westlake Primary to launch Grade R class

Constantia Rotary’s support has made it possible for Westlake Primary School to reach a new milestone next month as it introduces its first Grade R class, marking a new chapter in the school’s 13-year history.

The no-fees school, which welcomed nearly 100 pupils to Grade 1 this year, is expecting hundreds of applications for Grade R. Applications opened on Monday.

Westlake Primary approached the Rotary Club for funding after making an application to the Western Cape Education Department to begin Grade R enrolment. However, the department could not add any new Grade R classes due to budgetary cuts, says school principal Tracey Petersen-Brown.

“Then the Constantia Rotary Club received funding from a Canadian Rotary club to sponsor a teacher for the whole year. I informed the department, they obliged to our request, with the proviso the school and the school governing body are fully responsible for funding of the class.

“Within a month, they received teaching materials and the go-ahead for the school governing body to proceed with community engagement, enrolment, and recruiting a teacher for classes to start.

“What educators and parents do at the beginning of that child’s educational journey is so important because it sets the tone for the rest of the academic career. If the foundation isn't laid properly, it can have a negative impact. However, if laid properly, it can set the child up for success for the rest of their lives,” said Ms Petersen-Brown.

Westlake Primary has its work cut out for it this year with 24 of last year’s Grade 1s repeating the year, and according to Ms Petersen-Brown, the community has only one registered preschool, Emmanuel Educare.

“That is why we were fighting for the Grade R class because most of our kids coming to Grade 1 have not been to Grade R before. Then they go to the Grade 1 curriculum, which requires written work and assessment from term 1.

“Emmanuel Educare can only take 60 learners. We got 50 of those kids in 2024 in a grade that has three classes and 40 learners per class. Most of them actually don't have Grade R or any other formal education so the gaps are so big when they arrive at Grade 1 and it's a lot of catching up that they have to do,” said Ms Petersen-Brown

Constantia Rotary Club heard about the school’s plight while taking visiting Rotarians to see one of the club’s projects - a R1.3 million sports field complex in 2022.

“They were most impressed with the school and the attitude of the teachers, but were appalled when they learnt of the high Grade 1 failure rate due to lack of accessible free Grade R tuition,” said Geoff von Klemperer, Constantia Rotary Club’s project coordinator.

“When the principal, Ms Petersen-Brown, explained that she had made application in August to the WCED to start a class of 30 Grade Rs in 2025, a member of the touring party, from the Rotary Club of St John’s East, offered to pay a large proportion of the teacher’s salary for 2025, the remainder was to be raised by Constantia Rotary.”

According to Mr Von Klemperer, Constantia Rotary Club plans to provide the school with two more classrooms to accommodate more Grade R classes.

“The school management were able to free up an amenities room, so we need to build two classrooms, a few toilets and a playground. The original architects, who built the school 14 years ago, have drawn preliminary plans and costs which are lodged with WCED, and we are looking for funding from the private sector.”