Tafelberg School

History

Tafelberg School was established on 23 July 1983. It was originally a school for white students, and was based in Sea Point from the 1980s until 2010. The school was located at two separate sites in Sea Point and catered for children with special learning needs referred by schools throughout the Cape Peninsula. The junior school was located at 3 Kings Road, on the corner of Tramway Road. The senior school was located in a building at 355 Main Road which had previously housed Ellerslie Girls' High School from 1899. In 1989 Ellerslie Girls' High School vacated the building following a merger with Sea Point High School, formerly Sea Point Boys' High School, which had become co-educational and Tafelberg School subsequently occupied the vacant building.

Tafelberg School became racially integrated in a post-apartheid South Africa, and junior and senior sections of the school have merged and moved to a new location in Bothasig in June 2010. The construction of the new school building in Bothasig, "the first fully accessible resource centre in the province, both from a physical and curriculum accessibility point of view", cost R45 million. The move to a "more friendly learning environment" reduced the school's capacity in terms of student numbers and necessitated a one-third reduction in the number of classes per grade.

The 17,000 square metre site in Sea Point's Main Road previously used by the school and Ellerslie Girls' High School before that was declared a provincial heritage site in a government gazette dated 15 December 1989. The disused site has been proposed for redevelopment by the Western Cape Government, which says that it is suitable for a mixed-use development and has requested expressions of interest from parties interested in buying the property or leasing it for a period of up to 60 years provided that the original 1899 building and an avenue of wild fig trees are preserved.

In February 2014 it was reported that the Kings Road site in Sea Point previously used by the school was to be leased by the French School of Cape Town and R18 million worth of upgrades were planned for it.

Academics

In 2002 Tafelberg School received a Special Superintendent-General Award from the Western Cape Education Department for having students achieve National Senior Certificates with matriculation endorsements. A matriculation endorsement allows students to study for a Bachelor's degree at any South African university. In April 2012, it was reported that Tafelberg School had achieved a 100% matric pass rate since the new school building opened in 2010.

International exchange

Tafelberg School is twinned with Longcause Community Special School in Plymouth, England, an international exchange partnership facilitated by Afri Twin, which has linked over 250 schools in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Tafelberg students travelled overseas and visited the school and some other nearby schools including Hele's School in 2008, and again in 2010 during a tour of the United Kingdom. The visits incorporated cultural exchanges and sporting events.

Court case

In August 1998 a student stole a computer hard drive from the school. The school governing body recommended that the student be expelled, but the Western Cape Education Department overruled this decision. The school governing body was concerned that their decision-making powers in such a disciplinary matter were being undermined and as there was no legal precedent they asked for a judicial review. The High Court of South Africa upheld the school governing body's decision. They asked Superintendent-General Brian O'Connell to review his decision and ordered that he should meet the costs of the case.

Ritalin use

In 1999 it was reported that an estimated one third of all pupils attending Tafelberg School were using Ritalin. School psychiatrist Suzette Swart said the use of the drug at the school was strictly controlled and it was only administered with permission in writing from a pupil's parent. She said they use the drug "to help children concentrate better", but not all children who have difficulty concentrating need it.

Road accident

In 2010 a minibus taxi transporting pupils to the school was involved in an accident in which their driver died and 13 children were injured.

The bus driver allegedly had a heart attack moments before the crash. Whilst having the heart attack the driver tried to pull over and stop, instead he failed to stop the bus thus crashing into the back of a Golden Arrow bus that was picking up passengers.

The students got off the bus as quickly as they could. The bus driver was trapped in the bus and was still alive after the crash, he sadly died afterwards, on the scene.

The students were granted the rest of the examination period off and their marks would thus consist of averages and the previous terms marks.