Turning 50 in September was a milestone for Sparrows Private School, but the big birthday bash will, unfortunately, have to wait till 2021.
“This was supposed to be a big year full of celebrations, but due to the lockdown regulations, we’ve moved everything to next year. There is a lot to celebrate and when the time is right we will,” said owner Helen Karvelas Gregoriou.
It all started with a dream
Sparrows Private School is a South African institution and was begun by Helen’s parents, Nikki and Ari Karvelas, who came to the country as Greek immigrants in the ’60s.
Nikki one day looked back at her training as a nursery school teacher in Greece and felt a need to bring this expertise back into her life and into the lives of others.
Ari was a building contractor at the time and he helped to make his wife’s dream a reality with his own hands.
Ploughing all of their resources into the project, the couple built their first school in 1970 at 43 Langenhoven Street in Randhart, which is now the property adjoining the current school building in Spence Street.
Its name was inspired by the school where Nikki had taught in Athens, called ‘Ta Spourgitakia’ which translates to ‘Little Sparrows’ in English. Little Sparrows Nursery School was born out of a need to share, to help others develop and to bring wisdom into the lives of the young. This formula worked from inception.
Ever growing
The immediate success of the school inspired the building of the current property at 12 Spence Street as an after-school centre.
From 1974 to 1989 the school grew and flourished, becoming established as a respected crèche, nursery school and after-care accommodating children from three months to school-going age.
Success followed success and by 1992 the demand was so high to expand that an application was made to the then TED (Teacher Education Department) to establish a primary school.
The application was granted based on the school’s excellent record and level of teaching. In 1993 the first Grade Ones attended their first day of school.
A new grade was introduced with each year that followed and by 1995 the name Sparrows Private School was adopted.
The education department has been so impressed with Sparrows Private School that its registration had been upgraded to include a high school.
The school kept growing and by 2008 they opened a high school and had their first matric class in 2012.
An outstanding school
Sparrows Private School has about 350 learners.
It has a distinctly multi-cultural flavour, with a mixture of Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and traditional African religions celebrated.
The school also places particular emphasis on art, culture and music. The success of the yearly school play underlines Sparrows Private School’s passion for the arts.
Every year, distinctions are obtained in almost all activities at eisteddfods held annually.
The academic performance of the learners at the school has placed Sparrows Private School in top positions regarding matric examinations. Sparrows is the only school in the south Gauteng region that achieved a 100 per cent matric pass rate for the last seven years.
It was also listed in the Cambridge University Students’ Union Guide to Excellence numerous times for its achievements over the last seven years.
This is a family-orientated institution, offering a dynamic and nurturing environment for tomorrow’s adults to learn, grow and actualise.
Leading the way forward
Helen and her husband, Gregory Gregoriou, took over Sparrows Private School after her brother died in 2007.
“We all just continued the passion our parents shared with us,” said Helen.
For them, the best part of the job is to see the smiles or facial expressions on learners’ faces when they achieve.
“It is all about the sense of achievement learners discover. Even today some of our old learners will pop in, now highly successful at what they do. It is just amazing to know that their grounding and foundation was in our hands and that everything we did worked,” said the pair.
According to Gregory, some of the challenges they face is parents interfering with the schooling process, but at the school open communication is key to resolving any issue.
Ultimately, it is their mission to help parents and educate the youth. Their recipe for success is hard work, dedication, patience and being both supportive and adaptive.
“We believe if a child is rewarded for the good he or she has done, they will do even better the next time,” they said.
Even though the 50th birthday celebrations must wait till next year, the Sparrows Private School mission of serving the greater good through education constantly continues.
