South+Peninsula+High+School

South Peninsula High School (SPH) is a secondary school located in Diep River, a suburb of Cape Town (Google Maps: South Peninsula High School). Students aged 13-18 (Grade 8-12) attend and the school roll (2011) is 1020.
 * South Peninsula High School**

South Peninsula High School

SPH opened in 1950 and has a rich heritage. For example, many of the schools’ 60 teachers are ex-pupils of SPH. During the apartheid era it was classed as a ‘coloured school’ whilst the area it is situated was re-classed as ‘white.’ Due to dedication of parents and teachers, students of SPH, and the siblings of students, continued to travel into the area to attend the school. Now, many parents continue to send their children to the school, even though they could afford to send their children to a higher-fee school. This says a lot about the quality of education available at SPH, which is classed as a low resource school (fee per student is R5000/year). Pretty much everyone we spoke to during our time in Cape Town spoke respectfully about SPH, some considering it ‘a diamond in the rough.’

South Peninsula High School Students at SPH

Mr Isaacs, the Principal Teacher, is someone who is passionate about his job and ready to fight his corner – a true leader. For example, he refused to move with the Government’s introduction of Outcome-based education (OBE) in the late 1990’s, sticking with traditional teaching methods. Since, OBE has largely been regarded as a failure.

//“I would like to see more critical teacher. Who doesn’t bow to status quo.// //A teacher who is prepared to speak if something is going wrong, Speak truth to power.”//

Whilst in Cape Town we visited two other schools in the area, thanks to Mr Adriaans organisation. The first was to Langa High school, a former 'Black' school and no-fee school, and the second to Norman Henshilwood High School, a former 'Model-C' or 'White' school (fee per student is R11,000/year). These visits, although brief, were really interesting and furthered our understanding of the complicated education system in South Africa. English class, Langa High School English Class, Norman Henshilwood High School

Despite our time in SPH being cut short by Easter holidays, we feel we learned a lot during our stay in South Africa. Our time in SPH (as well as our visits to other schools) gave us a whole new perspective on some of the topics we have been looking into. To find out more about some of the things we did in SPH, please follow the links below:

Case Study - Maths Literacy Case Study - UN History Class Observation - Life Science