A year after Sidbury Primary School's move to its new premises, Lauren Davidson and Jessica Caroline Taylor find its pupils thriving in a beautiful new building, with colourfully decorated classrooms and an array of playground activities on offer.
Maryan Hart acknowledges that her staff and pupils are very lucky. Many farm schools don't even have proper classrooms, let alone properly resourced ones, with access to state-of-the-art sports facilities.
A year after Sidbury Primary School's move to its new premises, Lauren Davidson and Jessica Caroline Taylor find its pupils thriving in a beautiful new building, with colourfully decorated classrooms and an array of playground activities on offer.
Maryan Hart acknowledges that her staff and pupils are very lucky. Many farm schools don't even have proper classrooms, let alone properly resourced ones, with access to state-of-the-art sports facilities.
But Sidbury Primary School wasn't always like this, the principal says. It started off in Sidbury Village in two prefab buildings next to the old Sidbury Sports Club, and it was difficult to access due to heavy rains that had damaged the road.
Then, the children's parents and the Sidbury community clubbed together to build a new school on the premises of the new Sidbury Sports Club.
A brick building with colourfully decorated classrooms, and a playground with a jungle gym and swings and a slide, and access to the club's tennis courts and cricket field, it's 45km from Grahamstown, next to the N2, on the banks of Bushman's River.
Hart says that the school is very lucky to have the financial means to pay decent salaries.
"Our staff get paid hospitality [industry]rate wages, so they are actually well paid," she says.
The school receives an annual allowance from the State, but also raises funds with the parents’ support through school fees, an annual 10km sponsored walk and Baker's Day, which is held every Friday.
On a rotational basis, the parents bake and these goodies are sold at R1 each.
So far, they have accumulated R700 from Baker's Day, which they haven't spent yet.
Hart said, "Over the years we have built up a nest egg, so that if we have a problem, if we have children whose parents really can't afford to pay fees, we have that money to keep us going."
This year, there are nine children in the primary school and 21 in the pre-school, six of whom are Grade Rs.
"There is never a set number," says Hart – one of only two teachers.
Pippa Wilkinson teaches the pre-schoolers.
While Hart teaches only nine children, her class is a mixture of Grades 1, 2 and 3.
Parents have shown interest in the school going up to Grade 7, but Hart says that would require more teachers.
The tiny school is not only multiracial and interdenominational, but even international – with a boy from Malawi and a girl from Pakistan.
The laughter and chatter during breaktime, when children ride toy motorbikes, play hopscotch and gyrate in hula-hoops, are a sign of a happy school – and it seems Sidbury's move has paid off.
