NEWLY appointed Kuswag Skool primary deputy head principal Pieter van der Spuy shared information on his journey of being the first learner enrolled in Kuswag to his prestige appointment.
Officially opening in 1970, Amanzimtoti’s Afrikaans medium school will celebrate 50 years of education next year.
In an interview with the SUN, Pieter, who is a descendant of a long line of educators, explained how his father Danie van der Spuy was instrumental in the start up of Kuswag Skool.
“I began my schooling at Warner Beach Junior Primary School and followed through into the senior primary school,” he began. “My parents realised that when it came time for me to attend high school, the nearest Afrikaans medium high school was in Durban, or down south in Port Shepstone.”
An educator himself, Pieter’s father Danie involved himself with the birth of Kuswag Skool. The school originally began on the grounds where Amanzimtoti Primary School is now. Back then, the school was nothing more than pre-fab classrooms, and mockingly referred to as the ‘cardboard college’.
Once the building where Kuswag is now was complete, learners moved over to the new grounds. Between 1983 and 1993 the primary school grades of Kuswag moved back to the Amanzimtoti Primary grounds now built up as a real school, but following this time the primary grades rejoined Kuswag where it is situated now, and Amanzimtoti Primary School took over Kuswag primary school’s grounds.
On the completion of high school Pieter studied towards a degree in education in Bloemfontein and served time in the army. Both his father, who was a teacher at Adam’s College, and his grandfather, his siblings and children took up education.
After teaching inland for five years after obtaining his degree, he moved back to Amanzimtoti and filled a position at Kuswag Skool. He taught accounting, economics and business over his 30 years at the school, but now is only teaching business studies to grades 11 and 12.
Pieter remarked that it was very young, when he served in the army and when he spent the five years teaching at another school that he was not involved with Kuswag.
“As a high school educator I saw learners begin Grade 8 and through seeing how they struggle and their weaknesses, I feel that I can apply changes that will see them better set for their senior years,” he said. “I want to create better products for high school.”
The passionate educator is set to tackle this next journey with triumph and determination, ensuring the youth passing through Kuswag Skool are equipped to tackle all life serves.
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