Former teachers and staff of a non-profit college in Salt River joined its 25th anniversary celebrations on Thursday last week.
The Basic Education and Skills Training (Best) College, which is now based at the Wesley Training College in Salt River, started under the guise of the Cape Youth Centre in two shipping containers with four pupils after social worker Richard Heradien and Cape Youth Centre director Chris Smith saw the need to educate pupils who were too old to enrol in mainstream schools (“College celebrates 20th anniversary,” Southern Suburbs Tatler, September 5, 2019).
The college now has 124 pupils, and, according to deputy principal Desiree da Silva, they come from nearby Woodstock and Salt River as well as further afield, from Hout Bay, Macassar, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Parklands.
Some pupils are doing training to get a Grade 9 pass so they can enrol in a technical vocational education and training college, while others are studying towards completing their matric.
Teacher Linda Malone said the pupils were able to receive more attention in smaller classes of 21 to 28 pupils.
“No pupils are unknown to us; we know exactly what they can and cannot do. If they are perhaps late constantly or do not finish assignments we will have one on one sessions with them,” she said. “I love this school, and I really feel like we are changing pupils’ lives.”
Former pupil Stephanie Okkers, who graduated in 2016 and now works in a beauty salon, said: “Without each educator taking their time like they did, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
“I never gave up, and now I am studying sound engineering at Cape Audio College and living my full life,” added Gilberto de Carvalho, who graduated in 2019.
Ms Da Silva said that as a non-profit, Best College did not get the same full funding from the Western Cape Education Department as state schools, and it had had to hike its annual fees from R7500 last year to R10 000 this year to help raise the R1 million it needed annually to cover its expenses.
Email bestsaltriver@gmail.com or call 021 447 0030 for more information about the college.
