Montrose Primary School, located in Parkmore, will soon be celebrating 50 years since it started as a small farm school on a large plot of land.
The school was started by farmers who lived in the area in 1970 as the nearest schools were too far away. The original school building, which has remained largely unchanged, included 20 classrooms and served 80 learners.
According to Cathy Langkilde, who has been a teacher at the school for over 30 years, the school has always operated like a family unit.
In her time as a teacher at the school Langkilde has seen many of her former learners return to the school to teach or to bring their own children to the school.
“Our teaching here is about teaching from the heart, you can have all the bells and whistles but you need to teach from the heart, every teacher here is passionate, I think that’s what makes people come back.”
Two years after the school was opened, the parent-teacher association borrowed bulldozers and helped create the school’s sporting fields. Four years later parents once again rallied their funds to build the swimming pool.
Parents also donated over 100 plants to develop school gardens in 1978.
School principal Sonette van Loggerenberg said, “Parents were very involved in building the school and leaving a legacy for future generations, which is what we really want to continue. Many parents who invested in the school did not see the completion before their children left the school but they did it for the children to come and that’s amazing.”
Montrose, which was originally named Parkmore Primary, had its name changed in 1972 when it was decided the school should be named after someone great, and so the school was named after James Graham, the first Marquess of Montrose.
Since the ‘70s, the school has continued to grow and develop, but still prides itself on its close-knit community.
Next year it plans to host a range of celebrations to commemorate their long history in the Sandton community.
