The Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Enver Surty, visited Scottsdene High School last Wednesday to officially open the newly rebuilt school.
Mr Surty said as part of the construction an administration block has been built with a principal’s office, printing room, sick room, reception are, store and staff room.
The school also has 45 general classrooms, a science lab and computer lab, and has also been equipped with a nutrition centre that will provide meals to the 485 pupils at break time.
“It was an honour to be doing the official handover, it has been a long journey for the school and community but they have overcome the hurdles and celebrate their new school,” said Mr Surty.
Principal Peter Links said the pupils and staff had moved into their newly built classrooms last year already, but finishing touches had still needed to be done to other classrooms, including the science laboratory.
The old school building was closed in 2015 because of structural defects, and pupils were moved to the Scottsdene community hall.
Later the school received prefabricated classrooms which it used for almost two
years (“Scottsdene High to cost R66m,
says report,” Northern News, October 28,
2015).
In 2017, Northern News reported on the movement of the pupils from their temporary classrooms to their newly built ones (“Scottsdene opens its doors,” Northern News, May 2017).
Mr Links said he was happy with the new building.
“This was the first high school to be built in Kraaifontein, in 1974, but it was then known as Wolwefontein Middle School.
“I am an ex pupil of the school, and I can remember being placed in prefabricated classrooms. I would not have liked my pupils to stay in those classrooms. To be in a building like this is marvelous,” he said.