.
The pommies love their class system where they can cultivate levels of elitism. There are 2 levels: private and public. Night and day comparisons- a bit like apartheid.
The English schools in SA originally build their school system on this basis. When I went to a high school interview in my local area in Durban, the principal told me the English schools system in SA is inspired by that in the UK.
There are (or were) more expensive schools- but not many that are 100% public schools. So certainly not as extreme as 2 distinct levels- instead a more relative level that is/was deployed in SA. (or places like US/Canada).
For example, just about everyone had to pay school fees in school - at least for the first term each year...... I never went to a good school- at least compared to some of the better (more expensive) schools in Natal. When I played rugby, we sometimes played against the best schools, but often we played regular schools. (fewer pupils, or less rich people).
Places like USA and Canada appear to be more about building a dominant middle class. A more capitalist approach instead of birthright elitism- which the English so love. (or at least the Reece Mogg crew from Eton College- a bit like the Harry Potter schooling).
Dave
Prior to 1994 there was very little interest in private schools in SA, The quality of education provided by Government schools for especially the White, Coloured and Indian communities were good enough to be usable all over the world as a norm.
I worked for ten years in Indian Education and was during that time the unofficial education finance advisor for National Treasury - whenever new funds requests were received by National Treasury from whatever Government Department were received it was referred to me for comments and recommendation as to the way to go from a financial management perspective. So I had a very good perspective of the state of Education countrywide,
Black Education was a total mess. The better schools for Black pupils were run by private institutions - mainly through churches and other welfare organizations. Schools were built mostly through programs by bodies such as farming associations like happened in rural areas outside of the so-called homelands. But the latter did not meet the more sophisticated requirements expected from schools,
Be it as it may along came the negotiations about the new school systems and one of the issues were the establishment of the so-called Model C schools - Government schools with parent associations controlling the management of the schools even when it came to for instance appointment of staff. Most children from the White, Coloured and Indian communities remained in the same system than they used to be. The system remained functioning well in the schools in the Western Cape, but suffered in other provinces run by the ANC. The quality pf education remained good in the Model C schools, while their was little or no improvement om Black schools outside of the Model C system,
The answer was from the higher income Blacks was to get their children into the Model C schools at all costs and that om its own created problems for those schools as to increased needs of facilities and teachers - they often fund appointment of additional teachers from school fees and even provide facilities by those means.
Be it as it may there were pressures in the Model C schools as well and in the ANC governed Provinces in particular it became a nightmare. The pressure on the Model C schools let to constant efforts by the ANC governed provinces to undermine the system and there were constant court cases on the issue,
The main problem that affected education was and is at present the quality of education offered, In a desperate measure to enhance their image the examination system n Matric was undermined and the standards relaxed badly to the extent that a matric certificate nowadays are worthless - children cannot even read when they leave schools other than Model C schools. So at Universities they had to introduce special programs to prepare children from outside Model C schools for university education,
The system of Model C schools worked well enough in the cities, but their were parents who was still dissatisfied with the system and they are the ones who wanted another system, A number of private companies saw an opening for financial gain and started to build private schools - especially using English as the medium of education, They pay their teachers better and got some of the best teachers in SA in their payrolls. Bearing in mind the assault of Government om the quality of education the private schools insisted on their own matric examination system and got it,
Even though the medium used in schools is English, most of their teachers home language is Afrikaans. Anyway most pupils in those schools come from a variety of races and language groupings and is very expensive for parents to send their children to such schools, so they only serve the high income families while an overwhelming percentage of children remain in the Model C schools.
From a sporting perspective funding for school sport in Model C schools is paid for by local companies and individuals. If you go to such schools you would be amazed by the number of businesses and individuals involved in the programs normally displayed on notice boards. Families like the Ruperts consider applications or goes around and identify potential sportsmen and women and move them into Paul Roos and other sport schools in the Western Cape. Examples of those are Willemse and the scrummie Jantjies. In the Willemse group there were 17 such pupils. In the case of Schalk Brits - appointed by Rupert - his main task would likely involve identification and development of such children.
Hope I provided some clarity on the issue.
.
The Afrikaans public schools is heavily funded by the parents and are almost private schools for all practical purposes.
Are the teachers subjected to BEE policies......... can the gummint say, 'yo, your kinders have far too many white teachers' ?
BB
That is a major problem in the Provinces controlled by the ANC, It often lead to legal action and to parent protests and stopping of all teaching at schools,
Normally the Government yielded in such cases and lose court battles in the issue.
Funny - could only happen in SA. The Black parents want White teachers to teach their children, the ANC Government wants it the other way around,
I don't mind even if they're purple as long as they're competent.
Draad - agrees
But you know where the root of the problems lie - it is with the corrupt South African Democratic Trade Union.
My wife and I can't afford the ridiculous private school fees.
We're looking into Affies, Monnas, Waterkloof, Garsfontein or Grey Bloem as our options.
Can you believe it... id rather send my kids to a SA Afrikaans school than an English school.
Schools like Hilton, Michaelhouse and Kearsney in KZN (can't speak for the Cape and other provinces but should be more or less the same) are streaks ahead in standards in all sectors.
Even my old school which was one of the best 40 decades ago has sunk to standards that are nowhere near where they used to be...cannot recognise it and I don't go to matches or reunions anymore...it does hurt though but it's like all sectors of ANC government that literally taint and sully everything they touch.
Dave it was not. What the parents subsidized in the past was the provision of sp ort facilities at schools and sporting as a whole. The school fees were entirely for that and there were regular sales of home produce like cakes and puddings for that purpose,
All other formal education costs - like books, stationary and teacher salaries were paid for by the Government and that is not the case at present. School fees now cover additional costs the Government does not provide, as well as upgrading of facilities and equipment and vehicles, while the sport activities are largely covered by local businesses and private sponsorships.
it does hurt though but it's like all sectors of ANC government that literally taint and sully everything they touch.
The private schools are almost all English Church schools or Jewish schools....Rondebosch, Sacs and King Edwards are public schools. You missed St Martins and St George’s the only Cathedral School in Africa at one point.
Well, I went to school in the 80s and 90s and unfortunately due to my parents divorcing and my mom being a single parent ended up going to quite a few schools.
As my mom is Afrikaans I ended up a lot of schools in the Western Cape like De Kuilen, Table View, Malmesbury, Durbanville, Jan van Riebeeck and then back to Table View high. Table view was the only state school where there were more English students than Afrikaans, but the quality of education was excellent, not to mention the sports facilities that cost nothing as a student.
I was able to do gymnastics at Table View as they had the facilities. These were all state funded schools, it only changed to model c schools in 1991 just before they start accepting black students into white schools. Probably as a means to keep the black kids out or at least soften the financial cost.
The teachers were really invested in the schools. The boarydingschools where also subsidised.
But if I recall correctly, the school fees wasn't that high, but we still had to buy our own text books once it went over to model c as well as our uniforms.
Things started to change drastically for model c schools as fewer teachers were invested in coaching after school and we could no longer use the nets or play on the rugby field. In the past you and your mates could just rock up at the nets and practice all day, but this changed drastically.
The boarding schools sucked, lots of bullying from the older boys and it was pretty much a 20 year old teacher in charge of looking after 200 boys to make sure the kids were in bed, but I do remember being back in Malmesbury age 12, where we would do raids between the 12s and 13s. But we often got caught and were beaten by the teacher immediately.
Although, I know of worse things that happened to some of my friends that went to Moreersberg where he got raped every week by older boys and another friend of mine that was forced to suck a prefect off.
At Jan van Riebeeck the initiation was really bad, it lasted all year if you were std 6. Thursdays were the worst day and they use to call us to go to the dak stoep, pretty much matrics beating std 6 up and making us fight each other for their entertainment with no teachers around.
The schools were also way more stricter and the amount of caning that happened over small things.
Although, I couldn't fault the quality of education and having my daughter here int he UK who is in year 1, I can honestly say that the Afrikaans schools were way better before model c came in.
But I also think that this is the reason why SA players were so athletic as this is started at a very young age and you are forced to do 2 sports every term. You either embraced it or suffered through it. But you had choices of what you want to do.
But the old Apartheid government built fantastic facilities and they are still being used by the Afrikaans schools. Given that the Afrikaans population isn't really exploding, this means that the amount of students in these schools always remain the same.
The up shot was also that most of my rugby coaches use to play for Boland and WP as it was still the ameteur days and they then went on to become teac hers after their career ended.
But for me the biggest difference were the Afrikaans teachers, they were really invested and showed a lot of commitment
Also the Roman Catholic Schools....CBC and St Joseph’s. When you got one of those “Fathers” as a referee you knew the whole thing was going to be bent!
Mozart
Sorry you are wrong here. There are various companies operating private schools in SA, One of those us Crawford - who operates the following major private schools in SA:-
* Ruimsig
* Fourways
* Italia
* La Lucia
* Lone Hill
* North Coast (Ballito)
* Pretoria
* Sandton
* Bryanston
Abbots operates 5 schools in SA.
The list of private schools is very long and I just picked two companies. They even have an Association representing them called ISASA - Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa,
I am not sure but I read that about 53 000 children wrote their Matric Examination with a 98,5% pass rate - maintaining very high standards,
My daughters attend a private girls school in Durban which was non-demonational, non-racial and fully funded by the parents.
As we were contemplating migrating and the school taught French and German (which we found very helpful in later years) was another factor we took into account at that time.
The standard of education was excellent, the teachers encouraged the students all the way including sporting activity and demonstrated a great work ethic which was proudly adopted by the students.
When I was in junior school the school was co-ed with English and Afrikaans classes. This was later changed to an all Afrikaans school in a suburb that was English to the core.
Never understood the reason for the change but someone else obviously must-have.
Separate high schools for boys and girls was the order of the day.
The boy's schools had rifle ranges and cadets (military skills) which was compulsory as was rugby, cricket, and athletics.
Also offered were avenues for students who wished to take up a trade to select more hands-on type of courses as opposed to those who wanted to continue and attend higher education institutions.
But in general, the standard of education was excellent and produced citizens that were successful, proud and patriotic.
Unfortunately, that has also succumbed to the chaos that has now overtaken the education of all citizens of SA.
Shocking.
Sure SB
But the major sport schools are mostly Model C schools with massive sponsorships by private enterprise. They scour the country and then offer bursaries to the talented potential sports puils and even give them pocket money. There were even court cases where schools "steal " children from each other.
By the way my nephew and his family - after living for 18 years in Essex - returned to SA because of distrust of the English school system so his son could attend the Oakdale High School, which he also attended, He still has a home and flat in England which he is leasing out, so they may return to England after his son completed his high school and university studies at Stellenbosch University.
Hilton College I am told now is the most expensive school in SA...at R322,000 per pupil pa.
Kipling wrote :
https://youtu.be/RL3hQDNcmOI
Hilton College 2020 Annual School Fees | Better Education
Frightening stuff and I know a farmer who had 3 sons there plus a daughter at St Annes Diocesan.
One wonders how much a man must earn to do this? And this does include all the odds and ends that youngsters demand today...it boggles the mind.
Hilton indeed is probably complete education...it's situation is a huge property and it's like a game reserve. They even got a fire engine that the boys do fire drill and maintenance. It's a beautiful school with stunning rugby and cricket fields.
We Afrikaners transform public schools to the same or better level than some (most) of the private schools. We find a way to make it work. The government contributes very little, yet we provide schools for a tenth of the cost of the likes of Hilton College.
Willpower, integrity and the absolute refusal to stay down....beware, don't give us a gap, or we will rule the world!
Paul Roos is R41 000 per anum ATM....HILTON? Really?
I heard from a friend of mine that his two daughters who attended the North Coast School in Ballito cost him more per child than his son's studies at Stellenbosh University cost him. Frightening situation.
His son has been working in Vietnam for the past five years as a Town Planning expert. Mu st receive a frightening salary paid in Dollars for that job.
My school had the SA football captain as well as the Natal Football captain at the same time- both in their final year of school. For some reason the provincial and national captain was different- but obviously both top quality players.
One of them was paid by one of the richer schools in Durban to finish their matric high school year with them.
This was a good way to charge more school fees when interviewing new school candidates from primary school . If this person plays football, then just say player XYZ went to school at our school. Meanwhile, they just stole the player from another school by paying them money to finish their schooling.
Draad glad to hear that...I've always respected the Afrikaans schools in the Cape, particularly the Stellenbosch and Paarl schools and Port Natal in KZN (Gert Muller and Marcell Coetzee).and Grey Bloem and Affies in Pretoria and Monument ( Alberts)...lol especially for Mike.and a few others.
They like english private schools maintain strong healthy traditions.
PS Did you know there are two Marcell Coetzee's that play international rugby,
One went to Port Natal and played no 8 and flank for SA...you all know that.
And the other plays centre for Germany and went to my old school. He's a good friend of Jesse Kriel and played together during their school days.
I think 2 of the Paarl schools are overrated...
Yep, I remember the Port Natal school rugby team very well.
These students were always very respectful, neat and extremely proud of their heritage and school.
Their 1st team was unbelievably gifted and were unbeatable for a number of years but sadly that was and is no more I am told.
Pity.
Private prep school in the USA is R600000.....expensive business, and the education is mediocre.
Mozart
That is indeed a problem and for the sake of education those failing schools should be dealt with harshly. The norm in SA is that the efficiency of the private schools are not performing - their operational license s withdrawn.
Obviously in the case of failing Government schools zero is done to correct the problems. There may be some talking about it - but the corrective measures promis ed is not really enforced.
If ever there was a country guilty of herrenvolkism, it must surely be the English. And just so that everyone understands the proper pecking order they've stratified themselves much like the Indians into various castes with Queen Elizabeth (God bless her and all who sail in her) at the top. The British royals of late do seem to be fading in favour of the American royal family, i.e the Kardashians who penetrate public awareness, with Caitlyn better equipped for this than the rest of 'em.
Seb
Now I remember - it was Monument High which after months of desperate effort bought a Koevoet to try and get something into the head of a pupil. Must have been Albeerts - wonder whether they gave it as a present to the Lions Rugby - or kept it just in the rare event another pupil turns up with the same problem. LOL
Ja, the Afrikaans schools definitely have a bigger sense of community than the English schools. All the parent are invested. I remember playing rugby for Durbanville under 13, every dad who's kid were play in the a or b team would meet at the school and drive the kids to the games all over the cape. There was no school bus, just the dads wanting to be there for their sons and their team mates. It was such great atmosphere and as a team we always felt we had so much support when playing away.
But, I know a lot of private schools that opened up and to an extent a lot of new age Christian schools where people would send their kids to church schools rather than state schools.
If you ask me, private schools are just a money making racket, if you want your kids to do well then you should invest into your community and hopefully every other parent would do the same
