Saxonsea High School in Atlantis is receiving a R300 000 upgrade to their Consumer Studies classroom, thanks to a generous donation from GrandWest.
The Afrikaans-medium school was established in 1985 for the communities of Saxonsea Atlantis, Mamre, Pella and Darling. Despite the many challenges these areas face, Saxonsea High School learners got a 95,5% pass rate last year. Impressively, this school has managed to achieve an 80% or higher matric pass rate since 2012.
The donation from GrandWest will pay for eight four-plate stoves, a fridge, a microwave, 15 workstations and some kitchen appliances. It will also cover the general refurbishment of the classroom, including painting, improved lighting, new cupboards, fixing kitchen sinks and taps, and repairing the damaged floors and ceilings.
"As GrandWest we wholeheartedly believe that education is a critical lever to achieve sustainable social upliftment," says Heidi Edson, Group Socio Economic Development Specialist at Sun International. "By creating education opportunities for the youth in our communities, we are ensuring a growing pool of talented and skilled people which companies like ours can employ in the future."
Saxonsea High School principal, Deon Claassen, said: "Our community of Atlantis struggles with gang-related violence. For a lot of our learners school is the only place they feel safe and have the opportunity to develop into responsible young adults. Our social-economic level in Atlantis is also very low. Some kids rely on the school feeding scheme for something to eat, and parents struggle to buy the equipment the children need for school. All these factors make this major donation to our school even more significant."
The Consumer Studies teacher, Franco de Nooi, said: "We are delighted by this meaningful donation to our school. Our Consumer Studies classroom needed the upgrade. It will be very beneficial to our learners."
Like GrandWest on Facebook GrandWestCasinoAndEntertainmentWorld and follow us on Twitter @GrandWestSA.
