Despite some members of the community asking for a new high school instead, Weltevreden Park will be getting a new private primary school in January 2019.
The new school will be a private institution which will facilitate learners in Grades R to 3 in its first year, and will be located in close vicinity to Jozi Divers. The school will expand its grades each year as the first Grade 3 group progressively graduates to Grade 4, Grade 5, and so forth, until they reach Grade 7. This will be the fifth primary school in the Weltevreden Park community, with the only high school still being Bridgeway Christian High School.
Despite the primary school congestion in the area, according to a recent finding by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Gauteng reportedly urgently needs 142 new schools to address the growing shortage of classrooms for next year. It is for this reason that the new private primary school will be built in Weltevreden Park.
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Even though the finding shows a need for new schools, the Northsider decided to do some research of our own, so we put it to you, our readers on Facebook to vote on whether you feel you need another primary school. To our surprise, regardless of the four primary schools that already exist in Welties, 58 per cent of the 402 voters who took the poll on Facebook voted that they feel a new primary school is necessary.
However, the comments sections on the poll and on the various community groups to which it was shared indicated the contrary. Throughout, the comments made by community members complained about the traffic congestion as well as the noise levels which they face with the existing primary schools in the area.
In the same breath, residents also indicated the need for a high school in the area, with a few also saying that they feel that there’s a need for an Afrikaans school in particular. They also said that they feel there are too many private institutions in Weltevreden Park and the outlying areas, and they would prefer if they received an affordable government school.
So, in other words, 58 per cent of the voters will get the primary school they voted for, while the others will have to wait before they get either the high school, the Afrikaans school, or the affordable government school they are asking for.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at northsider@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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