Bloom visits local school to check progress
Sandringham – The school has been through a tough period but is improving through good leadership.
The Democratic Alliance’s Joburg East constituency head, Jack Bloom, visited the Sandringham High School on 25 October to do an oversight visit.
Following his visit, the DA leader said he was pleased with the improvements at the school, adding that the infrastructure looks much better compared to previous years.
Bloom praised principal Phillip du Plessis, saying he is the person behind the astonishing changes at the school since he took over as the head of the institution.
Read: DA leaders undertake oversight visit in Joburg east
Du Plessis took over the running of the school in January 2016 when the school apparently had no permanent head for five years.
“The school buildings and grounds look dramatically better because Mr du Plessis has successfully called on past pupils to assist with donations,” said Bloom.
“I am going to assist the school to get the Gauteng Education Department to paint the school and fix some of the floors which are really bad. Their big problem is that the department has cut seven posts for next year even though school numbers have only gone down from 967 to 942 – a loss of 25 pupils.
“This is very unfair and I will push class sizes to over 60 instead of 35 to 40 at present,” said the DA leader adding that most of their children come from poor homes in Alexandra, and so the school can only afford three extra teachers paid by school fees.
“The school has been through a tough period but is getting better through good leadership and heart-warming community involvement. I will push for the department to reconsider the staff cuts,” he said.
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Bloom has also learned that the principal has re-established all the sporting codes by creating partnerships with sports academies and getting sponsorships, including R200 000 of cricket gear.
According to Bloom, this year the school won the rugby and soccer leagues, and the choir got through to the provincial finals.
Last year the school obtained an 85 per cent pass rate in their matric exams, and after speaking to the principal, Bloom said they aim for 95 per cent this year.
Details: Jack Bloom 082 333 4222
