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Belgravia High School, which was officially launched in June 1956 and will have its 70th anniversary next year, is one of the iconic schools in the Athlone area in the Western Cape.
The school boasts sports victories and academic prestige over the seven decades.
The school community now represents a wider demographic and is currently struggling to meet specific demands. These include providing quality holistic education to the learners encompassing the academics, sport, cultural and extramural activities.
Many learners get their first and only meal at the school and the facility for dispensing this service – which was started in unused classrooms – is in dire need of upgrade. The school is cognisant of the fact that no one can learn on an empty stomach and is therefore committed to making the learners feel valued and well fed to foster a sense of belonging and promote character development.
In many schools there are bruised, unripe individuals who often get into trouble. These learners should not be thrown by the wayside. If an unripe fruit is bruised, it can remain useful by changing its environment. The same can be done to those bruised learners. Throwing them out of the box does not benefit anyone. There is a need to change their environment and that needs money.
Fun Market Festival
In light of this, the school has organised a major fund-raising initiative – the Fun Market Festival which will be held on October 4 and 5 in the Belgravia High School Hall.
The money raised from the festival will primarily be used to upgrade the feeding hall and for the development of other facilities at the school. The school premises is vast but largely underdeveloped and we hope to create a soccer and cricket area, amongst others.
Recent developments and achievements at the school include the conversion of our energy source to solar power, upgrade of the physics laboratory.
Among the recent activities in which our learners took part were:
- A grade 11 and grade 12 learner were selected to represent the school at the Oasis Group Holdings financial services bursary programme;
- Sixty grade 8 learners were invited last month to perform at Cape Town Opera’s vibrant presentative of Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’;
- Our grade 10 and 11 history learners attended the talk at the ‘Long March to Freedom’ outdoor exhibition in Century City.
The Career Club had an exhibition for grader 9 learners last month. Other clubs that are active are the Muslim Students’ Association and the Computer Club. There are a few other clubs at the school which are mostly non-functional due to lack of funds.
Due to the pressure which teachers experience in their daily task of providing a sound education, they are unable to devote time to raising funds. The Fun Market Festival is thus a collaboration with former teachers to fulfil this need.
The festival not only aims to raise funds for the school but also provide a platform for vendors to make a living. In these tough time, the festival is an excellent, affordable opportunity for even start-ups to have a stall and supplement their income. It also serves as a networking opportunity between the school and the business world. Learners can learn from vendors how to start and run their own business; learning that one does not have to be an employee but can be self-employed and provide employment to others. The festival offers a wide variety of products with people from different walks of life attending, which allows the learners to interact at various levels and grow confidence.
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The festival will serve as a springboard for the 70th anniversary of the school next year. A register will be provided for former learners and educators of Belgravia High School, and this will serve as a source from which a committee will be established to drive the celebration of this auspicious event.
We thus urge all those who have been involved with Belgravia High School to attend over the weekend of October 4 and 5 to not only meet up with old friends but support the worthy cause of giving learners of this school a better chance at life.
Entry to the event is free and there is ample parking behind the hall. The hall will host not only a number of stalls showcasing a wide variety of products and services but also a spacious food court where people can relax and enjoy the company of family, friends and old acquaintances.
For further information send a WhatsApp to: 082 895 5991.
Issued by Belgravia High School
