“Forest Town is a school for special needs children,” said school representative, Dudu Mkhize. “Most of our students have a disability of some kind, so this is a special day for the children, teachers and parents.”
The school hall was transformed into a colourful flight of feathered frenzy, with the young ladies certainly pulling out all the stops to look gorgeous in their ball gowns, while the lads dressed dashingly dapper in their suits and ties.
Chairperson of the school’s governing body, Anver Fakir, beamed with pride as he addressed the impeccably dressed pupils, his daughter among them, while he discussed the various goals the school achieved over the year.
“This year has been a very good year for us at the school,” said Fakir. “There were so many things implemented successfully at the school, such as the work experience programme, for instance.”
Through this programme, pupils learn to do all kinds of work which allow them to create incomes for themselves in future. This includes beauty therapy, computer refurbishment, information technology courses and baking.
“We’re constantly looking into other life skills the pupils can learn,” Fakir continued. He further explained which issues the school will tackle next year.
“Space in the school is a problem at the moment and we’re looking at expanding somehow in order for us to take in more students,” he added. “We also want to find a way to help parents financially where possible. A lot of the children who come to the school come from severely disadvantaged backgrounds, so we want fees to have minimal impact on these children’s parents.”
Fakir said more than 30 percent of pupils at the school are already exempt from paying school fees, so fundraising for the school is integral to see these pupils receive their education.
“Whatever we have done here at the school in the past, I just hope that next year we can do it better,” Fakir concluded with enthusiasm.
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