#Journeyto100years: History of schools in Benoni

In the early days, English was the sole teaching medium in Benoni with Dutch (Afrikaans) only being introduced in the town in 1917.

The first government school was established in a wood and iron building at number five, Lake Avenue, in 1904 under Mrs Davis and five years later, a more substantial brick building was opened in Howard Avenue to house the central government school.

Benoni Junior School

This school was established as a separate school with its own principal in 1919 and for 20 years thereafter battled with the authorities for their own premises.

The Dutch Reform Church Hall “Onze Zaal” was rented to accommodate two more classes when the number of learners exceeded 400 and in 1921 the school moved into a hired wood and iron building in the middle of a vlei to the south of the town.

This site proved inadequate as the area flooded and sanitation became unusual.

Four years later, the site was partially drained by the municipality and brick classrooms were erected.

In 1935, the newly appointed principal, AH Maynier, and the parents campaigned for a better site and in 1938 a school was built in Derby Avenue, Western Extension, to house 350 learners.

In 1948, EA Mansel became principal and in response to her enthusiasm, the school won the South African Thrift Campaign prize. Three years later, the children bought the record number of 1 902 union loan certificates.

Roman Catholic Convent

This school was established in 1909 by the Third Order of St Dominic and was the only school in the town to offer English education from Grade One to matric.

In 1918, the school entered its first animation and in the same year erected a brick building.

The school expanded so much that in 1948, the adjoining property was bought from a Jewish community to provide space for additional classrooms and a hall.

Up to 1963, the convent was a boarding school but it is now a primary school having transferred the boarders and high school learners to Boksburg.

Benoni West School

This school was opened in 1918 with 233 learners.

The first principal, P Graham, believed schools should always be ‘open’ and even applied this rule during the 1922 strikes.

However, during a lull on March 10, the school was occupied by strikers and only re-opened on March 14.

St Dunstan’s Diocesan Memorial School

This school was founded at the end of World War 1 when Rev Edward Paget, Capt W Loftus, head of the police, and George Hills decided to establish a living memorial to those who had died in the war.

A house was rented in Woburn Avenue for the School. Lawrence Lake and one assistant teacher offered their services and the school opened with a staff of two to teach one learner.

However, this state of affairs did not last long.

Northmead English Medium School

This was opened in January 1951 with 556 learners.

The name was changed to Tom Newby in honour of the principal of the old central school. Congestion at Tom Newby was relieved in April 1957 when Rynfield English Medium School opened.

In 1917, the Teacher Performance Assessment decided to establish separate high schools.

Four years later, Mr Newby was allowed to establish a secondary department and two years later, the school moved to near the railway station.

Lack of ground prevented the erection of a permanent building until Rev Paget donated the ground on which Willomoore High School now stands.

The foundation stone for the new school was laid by J.H. Hofmeyr in 1926 and the first classrooms were completed in 1933 with the new buildings being opened officially in April 1937.

By 1961, there were over 1 000 children in the school and in 1967, plans were initiated for the present Benoni High School.

The first Dutch Medium School (later Called Brandwag)

Brandwag was established in 1917 under JAS van Heerden with 215 children.

Two years later, Johan Greijbe (later to be known as the father of Afrikaans Education in the Transvaal) was appointed principal.

In 1922, a strike resulted in a rapid decline in the number of learners but increased again when the nationwide depression brought large numbers of uneducated Afrikaans-speaking labourers to the Reef.

By 1936, there were 1 000 learners from Grade One to Grade 10 and Grade 11 and 12 were introduced in the next two years.

At the same time, the school spread to the Hebrew Hall and two stores in Swan Street were used as classrooms.

In 1935, a new building was opened and 405 learners were transferred to Brandwag Junior School (renamed Saamwerk School the following year).

Three years later, the overflow from Brandwag was moved to the ‘Tin Tabernacle’/ Temple, which had been vacated by Benoni High School.

They were joined by an overflow from Saamwerk and English Medium Junior School, and LH van Dijl was made acting principal.

At the end of 1939, children living in the northern suburbs were moved to the new Northmead Afrikaans Medium Primary School, leaving Brandwag with learners from Grade Eight to 10.

Shortly after the school was renamed Benoni Afrikaans Medium School, which was later changed to Die Verkennerskool.

The name Brandwag was given to Greijbe’s school in 1929. Twenty years later, when Greijbe retired, Brandwag became a high school.

The foundation stone was laid for an Afrikaans girl’s school in Northmead in 1951, but the building was redesigned for a mixed school and opened in 1953.

Northmead Afrikaans Medium School had an enrolment of 1 115 children by 1959 and was relieved the following year by the removal of 337 children to a new school in Rynfield.

Hoerskool Noord-Oosrand

This school was opened in 1954 in temporary buildings on the grounds of Sesfontein School and permanent buildings were built in 1967.

In 1905, the Vlakfontein 168 Government School was opened to serve the Van Ryn and Modder mines.

The name was changed to the Van Ryn Government School in 1910 but confusion with a Van Ryn private school caused the authorities to rename it Modder B Road Government School.

After the private school closed, it reverted to the name of Van Ryn and remained dual-medium until it became Afrikaans in 1964.

In 1921, 89 children were transferred from Van Ryn School to an English medium Modder B Government School.

In 1951, it became parallel-medium and in 1960 converted to an Afrikaans school.

A school similar to the one at Vlakfontein was opened in Putfontein in 1908. The school was closed due to a lack of attendance but re-opened in July 1912 with 11 learners.

Education in Dutch was introduced in 1914. During the time, the school was closed, learners were sent to English

Medium Norton Vlakfontein School, which opened in July 1908 on the north of the Benoni municipal boundary.

In 1911, the school moved to a small brick building and Dutch was introduced the following year.

The former minister of education Jan de Klerk was appointed principal of the school in October 1932 with two helpers to teach 66 children.

The number of learners grew in leaps and bounds until it moved to permanent buildings, changed to Afrikaans medium and was renamed Bredellse Laerskool after Col HC Bredell, the original owner of the farm Rietfontein.

Sesfontein English Medium School

This school was opened in 1923 under AC Coetzee. Many of the children who had come from Putfontein School did not speak English well enough to understand the classes and the school became parallel-medium in 1925.

The school moved to a wood and corrugated iron building a year later and in 1931 to a brick building. The name was changed to Excelsior School in 1951 and in 1966 was converted to Afrikaans.

Brentwood Park Primary school

This was opened in 1926 remaining a parallel-medium school until 1947 when the English-speaking children and teachers were moved to Government Village.

Information supplied from Glynnis Cox Millet-Clay

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