Only a year and five months after opening, Witsand Primary School now has its own computer laboratory.
At the launch on Friday 20 May, attended by school principals of Avondale, Protea Park and Reygersdal, ward councillor Moosa Raise and Education Department area director Wendy Horn, Witsand principal Gerhard Matthyse said the new lab existed thanks solely to “the generosity and support of donors.”
He thanked them all as well as all other contributors for their generosity, especially West Coast College for its contribution of 40 computers and its Deputy CEO, Andy Swartbooi, in particular for the vital role he has played in the project.
Horn, who presides over the Metro-North education district, congratulated and praised the school and all its community involved in this milestone.
“Witsand Primary had a 95,2% pass rate in its first year of operation, which shows what can be done through holistic development, passion and commitment,” she said.
Raise commented: “I’m speechless because I cannot describe my sentiments towards your staff, Mr Principal. You are not only showing us the importance of the sun from above, but also the importance of creating opportunities for young people.
“Collaboration is important for leadership, as the foundation you lay for the school will further strengthen it.”
Local activist Nolefe Mbombo explained it was difficult to convince the powers that be of the importance of a school for the Witsand area.
“It was not an easy journey for us as a community, who fought 18 years,” she pointed out.
Mbombo related that when the community made its appeal to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), the department said it would consider building a primary school only if the community showed how many children would be placed in primary schools in Atlantis.
“I walked from one primary school to one another to get the total of learners of Witsand attending them. This was not easy because I sometimes had to walk in the rain to get those records from school administrators.
“As a community we overcame and managed to get those totals to the WCED.”
After an agreement was reached between the City of Cape Town and the WCED the land was made available to build the school on.
The interim facility was opened in 2020 for learners in Witsand and surrounding farms.
“This is just the beginning of our vision to make all our classrooms smart ones,” Matthyse said.
He closed with a quotation from American author Helen Keller, who herself had prevailed over near-insurmountable odds: “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
