Nearly 40 years after it first opened its doors, Eisleben Road Primary School launched it’s hall, which its principal described as “not just another building”.
The hall, which cost R8.7 million to build, was funded by the Archway Foundation and the Western Cape Education Department.
The Archway Foundation was established 19 years ago by Garden Cities, the oldest and largest developer of suburbs in the Western Cape, for the specific purpose of providing school halls. The non-profit company, which celebrated its centenary in 2019, originally funded the halls independently, but their delivery has since been accelerated by the financial participation of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).
“The acquisition of a hall will not just be another building, but it will ignite the fire of endless possibilities for our pupils, staff, parents and our community,” said Gregory Maarman, principal of Eisleben Road Primary School.
Of the funding for the Eisleben hall, the Archway Foundation contributed R4.35 million, the WCED R4.18 million, and the school, R250 000.
In his original motivation for a hall, Mr Maarman said they were a very proud and dedicated school community which embraced the WCEDs vision of “a quality education for every child in every classroom in every school in the province”.
“This is an ideal for which we are willing to go the proverbial extra mile. We are one of 30 schools that were selected to shine the light of the T2P (Transform to Perform) programme of the WCED and there is already a tangible change in the mindset of all our stakeholders,” he said.
Like many of the schools which have had the construction of halls funded through the foundation, Eisleben Primary is determined to make the new asset work for the school and also the surrounding community.
“We will be sharing the hall with the community and neighbouring schools will also benefit. We will stage fundraising events and the hall will host parent meetings, graduation ceremonies, indoor sport, concerts, and serve a host of other functions that were never possible before it was built,” he said.
But improving the school’s infrastructure is not going to end with the construction of the hall, said Mr Maarman.
“Our buildings need urgent attention. The windows need to be repaired or replaced – they are a health and safety hazard, as some cannot even be opened. The rusted fence around the school also needs to be replaced,” he noted.
He said that having the school hall provides endless opportunities for character building, camaraderie and unification.
“It will enhance pupil performance through sport and cultural engagements. This plays such a vital part in the holistic development of the pupil.”
Garden Cities CEO John Matthews, said he knew the inequality of the school system from experience, and resolved while he was still at school to do all he could to remedy the situation when he was able to.
He added that from when they started the hall project, they had noticed an improvement in the academic performance and morale of the children attending schools where the halls had been built.
“Garden Cities’ objective is to help towards eventually creating more equal opportunities for all Western Cape school children,” he said, adding that The Archway Foundation invited other Cape companies to participate in the funding of the halls.
“Education is the key to stability and financial security for everyone in South Africa, and as corporate citizens it’s our responsibility to help redress the inequalities of the past and give all the children we possibly can, the opportunity to reach their full potential,” said Mr Matthews.
When head girl Rabiah Petersen delivered a speech at the hall opening ceremony, she said she was ecstatic to be celebrating their school in this way and to be a part of history.
