At Teddington School we are fortunate enough to have established a link with two African Schools near Cape Town, South Africa; ‘Hottentots Holland High’ & ‘Eerste River Secondary’.
Eersteriver Secondary School is an Afrikaans-medium school in Eerste Rivier, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It was established in 1995 and as of 2006 it had 1,443 students and 43 teachers. In 2006 the Western Cape Education Department designated it as one of 10 "Arts and Culture focus schools" to be set up over the following three years.
Hottentots Holland High School is an Afrikaans- and English-speaking school in the Western Cape in South Africa, situated between the towns of Somerset West and Strand.
The school motto "Sibi Fidelis Ipsi" is latin for "True To Oneself". The parallel-medium, co-educational school, it was opened by Dr G. G. Cillie, Chairman of the School Board, in February, 1930. At this time the school had an enrolment of 220 students and a staff of 11. As of 2007, it has 960 students and 44 teachers. It has students registered in grades 8 through 12.
Our Overall Aims
Through our Afri-link our main aims are to share and learn about each others schools, lives and diverse cultures.
By having an active link with our two African Schools it will enable students to engage with, understand and value, diversity, mutual respect and social justice. We aim to link with the schools through joint curricular projects, bringing a 3rd dimension to students learning.
Initial Actions and Progress
- Linked up with Jayne Martin from the organisation ‘Afri-Twin’ who introduced us to both South African schools.
- Mr Jacobs visited both schools during the summer.
- During the Autumn Term communication was re-established with both schools and our new Community Arts Co-ordinator Miss Reidy. – regular contact is made through emails between teachers.
- During the Autumn Term we established a group of 16 Year 9 Afri-Link representatives. Meetings are held regularly to discuss projects and promotion.
- Afri-Link Reps have begun communicating with the Student Reps in both schools.
- Some Year 9 classes have been involved with an Arts project which enabled Teddington students to explore and investigate their own individual identity/culture. Student’s artwork will be shown to students from South Africa to help them to understand a Teddington student’s ‘world’.
- Funding applications have been put forward for a proposed first teacher visit to South Africa. In May, 3 teachers will hopefully go over to visit the twinned schools; meet the teachers and students involved; discuss ways of linking up through the curriculum and sharing each others ways of living and learning.
Map showing location of both South African schools
Map of Eerste Rivier School and Surrounding Area.
Map of Hottentots Holland High and surrounding area