I came to hear about this over the weekend for the first time. Just remember you know the context whenever someone starts a statement with the word “apparently” so here it goes:
APPARENTLY an old educator with decades of teaching experience is busy sourcing funds to build a private school in Ballito, north of Durban. Ballito is a fast developing area without a major high school to service it at the moment. The plan seems like a good one. Private schools are outside the income bracket of many folks but Ballito is pretty much an affluent area so the location is perfect in a sense and given the potential for growth in the region, in 10 years time, this school could be the hub of something much bigger. Even still getting investors on board won’t be easy.
Although the school would probably be based on Clifton Durban model in terms of its private day school structure, DHS comes into it because of the strong ties that this old educator has with “School”. The the alleged name that cropped up in the conversation was even Durban Boys College. It seems one thing will be a certainty if this project gets off the ground, there will be an unmistakable connection between the new school’s ethos and that of old DHS’s fundamental characteristics.
Meanwhile at DHS, it’s the job of CEO Mike Fennell, believed to be on a seven figure salary per annum, to see to it that the school on the Berea re-establishes itself as a leading school in Durban. It was never going to be an easy assignment as a result of the stiff competition for neighbouring schools. I wonder what Fennell’s thoughts would be on of the idea of uprooting DHS and moving it to Ballito?
Anyway interesting times ahead.
Rumor has it ( as opposed to APPARENTLY) and I’ve also heard this a few years ago that Glenwood may get a 4th rugga field in that the the Junior Primary School below Bassons may be moving -lets hope this is true
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@Rhino:
Yeah I know exactly who you are speaking of. The boy and his dad were keen on DHS but from what I know mommy won the battle and sent her son to WBHS. Anyway, the kid was in the B side at WBHS so competition must be tough.
As Grassy said this happens a lot with other schools too and the relationship between the two schools is slowly becoming better now. There was concern that some ties would be lost with the departure of Neave at DPHS but this hasn’t happened at all.
Agree with your sentiments about School though. Moving is not the answer for sure.
@Rhino: that has happened for a decade now but DHS are building their relationship back up with DPHS and slowly stopping the leak to Westville. Look at DHS’s last 2 rugby intakes, pretty good. Also, it’s one case I have heard of others in the other direction with other schools….but well done to Westville…
@ all
Its really quite kak to have got to this potential situation where a “top” kzn and even country wide school aka DHS is not in talks of moving site. It will only lead to further demise i can assure you. No… they have to fight and hard at somehow getting school back to some of its former glory. I say this as a Westville boy who has taken a beating from school in my year but still i would not want this to happen. Come on man. Eish!!1 i was back for 2 weeks and one of my mates bro in law who is an ex dhs boy and also the VP of DPHS has actually sent his son to Westville and i believe he wasnt keen but he was told to ” go have a look” and i believe within 15 minutes of walking through he just said to TH – sign my boy now ” i have never seen anything like this in a school” – and this is coming from a staunch DHS old boy and VP of DPHS………… obviously im stoked to hear but must be hard to have to accept that basically DHS is………..well…. demised. kak – anyhow his son was offered full bursery at westville, glenwood, clifton and DHS but he chose Westville. Stoked :-) He a great rugger player.
@Greenwood: Mount Richmore is an estate in Salt Rock, the school is built in the grounds. Same with Trinityhouse Palm Lakes, it’s in Palm Lakes. I too prefer one worders, College, School, Glenwood, Kearsney….
@Greenwood: I’m sure all these schools will get their ring soon enough.
Durban High School = DHS or School
King Edward VII High school – KES
But I do agree having a CURRO or Crawford on the front of a school name makes it sound like ABSA sorry Growthpoint Kings Park.
hang on ! there is a soon to be School up north called Curro Mount Richmore ?
that’s quite a mouthful – where would someone come up with a name like that ? sounds very unschoolish ! (new word for Oxfords’ dictionary!)
Westvile , Glenwood , College , School, have a comforting “ring” about them
@Gungets Tuft: agreed, that is why Curro and Trinityhouse have sprung up in Salt Rock and Tinley Manor, massive market with above average families in estates far enough from Durban schools to want to go locally. Found out my old Geography teacher at Glenwood Mr Cromie is heading up Curro in Salt Rock. He was not that great a teacher back then but that was 20 years ago now! We looking at Trinityhouse for my daughter as DGC is too far. Nice idea on the school fee loan, wonder what the interest rate is like…15%?
@Rugger fan: Said most of it right there. Government has never, and never will be, able to supply consistent quality schooling so there is a big gap in the market.
Even the top private schools are offering “fly now, pay later” fee structures to make themselves affordable. Not widespread yet (I don’t think, it’s not something everyone is willing to discuss down at the pub), but it will get there, parents will pay for a 5-year education over 10-15 years with their houses as collateral. Give them a quality alternative, on their doorstep, but excluding the massive sports campus, there will be a ready market.
Check the Asian model, where facilities timeshare, one set of kids go to school from 6am, the others start mid-afternoon. Double the base of paying customers, 1/2 the cost of facilities.
I think there is a natural progression for these new schools to either concentrate on certain sports (e.g. Clifton with waterpolo) or just take a number of years to build up a good name in their sport to make an impact.
Rugby & Cricket will probably remain the domain of the big 6 or 10 in each province with some upstarts moving in and out as the leadership and demographics allow (think of Weston, Voortrekker and Pinetown being contenders in years gone by in KZN) and also Clifton probably regularly making the top 10 in KZN (albeit in the lower tier and inconsistently).
but I do believe there is a place for these new schools if we look at the broader needs in the country regarding education and delivering the next generation of an educated workforce. The government system is unlikely to provide sufficient and the established private school network is out of reach of most of the middle class. These schools, although private only come in at a fraction of the current private schools and probably differentiate themselves in the class room rather than the sports field.
I agree Rugby in the new age schools is rather poor.
I watched some of the Crawford La Lucia and North Coast game last and this season and they don’t bring in much in the table. Although I must commend La Lucia their team was much stronger this year and ended the season unbeaten. They went on to hosting a successful 7’s festival and came third with Kloof high taking it away and Voortrekker being second.
I was surprised by this years 1st XV and it was really great watching them (very improved) compared to previous years.
@Grasshopper: Shoo, people behaving like that sounds a little like the Blarney Bros evenings we used to go to at the Ansonia Hotel in PMB. But I thought everybody was talking Swahili, I understood them perfectly.
@McCulleys Workshop: Agreed, those schools don’t offer proper competitive provincial level sport anyway. If I had a son in KZN he would not go to a ‘new age’ school anyway.
@Grasshopper: let’s stick to rugby, but it does sound like an apt description of my rugby side this year! The lead guitarist was playing prop and it looked like the scrum half was scaling the offering.
@BOG: OK, I don’t mind bands and lively music in church, but when people start dropping to the floor ‘drunk in the holy spirit’, start talking in tongues and lifting their hands up in a stupor then sorry that is not for me or my kids. Everything in moderation is our family motto when it comes to booze, religion etc…
@Rugger fan: Yep, I’m looking at building in Palm Lakes where they have Trinityhouse which will be my only option for my girl. Curro is far too extreme for me…
Well CURRO have also started a fairly extensive expansion into KZN (after having a growth in their origins of the western Capae and more recently Gauteng.
They bought Hillcrest HCA school and Embury teachers college – and the CURRO Ballito campus is already nearing completion and opens its doors on the Mt richmore estate in January 2013 (apparently very close to fully subscribed already) – and plans to have up to nine schools across KZN within 18 months.
So another serious “private” school coming in the north – initially to Grade 8 – but will grow year on year until it is a full HS by 2018
http://ballitolife.co.za/index.php/permalink/3883.html
It would appear that someone has information pertaining to the abrupt end of the decline of the last 15 years. If not, wake up- your coffee is getting cold. You really do not have to be a rocket or political scientist to realize that a country, like a human body, cannot continue to bleed without catastrophic consequences. And creating fantasies, is not the way to stop the bleeding.@Grasshopper: “happy clappy Christianity” is the real biblical deal and if you want the references, I can give them to you. The traditional and dead ones, filled with sleeping corpses, full of rituals are the apostate ones.
@Gungets Tuft: Crawford to me is also ‘new age’, it might have changed as its been around 15 years or so. I just don’t like the whole growing your hair, soft discipline approach. Also, most of these ‘new age’ schools are leaning towards happy clappy Christianity. Nothing against religion at school but in moderation. DHS in Durban North makes no sense, Northwood covers that area. Ballito is where it’s needed…
Remember Crawford North Coast is also a local high school. Pretty mainstream, writes NSC matric, just not very sports concious.
Crawford schools has some pretty big backing, might be tough to go against them.
Beet, I’ve heard the same story for the last 6 months, however DBN North was cited as the area and in particular the grounds of DHS Old Boys where I had heard feasibility studies were being conducted (Planning permission sort). The usual suspects as far as backers are concerned were/are said to be behind the project. It sounded very strange, like DPHS College, or as put to me the senior school of DPHS. No doubt there is some smoke, however I do find it a little strange that all the effort would be applied to improving DHS with the addition of new staff and funding etc, only for their alma mater to be planning a coup of sorts. It can only undermine the work and morale of the current staff. In talking to DHS Old Boys, the majority don’t want to send their kids there, preferring Westville, College and Glenwood. When suggested that the school needs the backing, commitment and involvement of Old Boys and their kids, the basic response is that their precious bundles of joy are not guinea pigs! It seems like the OB’s are looking for a new initiative to pin their hopes and bragging rights to. If true, in many respects I understand their feelings, and at the same time it is a particularly disappointing end game.
Ballito certainly needs more high schools, especially more regular type ones. Curro, Ashton and Trinityhouse are very ‘new age’ and not ideal for some. I would love a Durban Girls College out there too having a daughter. I think DHS moving might work, but what about the traditional buildings etc, will be very hard to do. However it would set them up for the future which is the north coast. Getting out of an area on the slide for an area on the up makes sense.