Bergvliet Primary School

Bergvliet Primary School is a co-educational primary school located in Bergvliet, Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1950, the school currently has over 700 students enrolled, offering education from Reception Grade to Grade 7.

History

BPS Hall

After the Second World War, 1939–1945, an entirely new suburb of Cape Town was established to provide accommodation for ex-servicemen. The Bergvliet Housing Scheme attracted many young families and soon the completed buildings were occupied. A beautiful, modern primary school was built in 1949 ready for the first term of 1950.

The original main building consisted of twelve airy and gaily-painted classrooms and two adjoining K.G. rooms with an interleading sliding door so that this area could also be used as a place of assembly.

There was also a principal’s office (now being used as a secretary’s office), staff room (now being used as the principal’s office), bookroom and toilet facilities for the staff and children. There was also a kitchen which was sometimes used by the K.G. children when they baked gingerbread men. Outside, there were two covered bicycle shelters each approximately twenty metres long. The original cost of the school and out-buildings was about R56 000 (£28 000).

The enrolment was about 174 in a school designed for 500 pupils. Although the school was intended to be dual medium, very few Afrikaans speaking parents applied for admission for their children. The colour of the uniform was bottle-green and white. The badge – a variety of Erica – was designed by Mr Walters and the motto - Servimus – was added by Mr Breetzke. In the summer the boys were allowed to wear khaki shorts and shirts with sandals. Girls wore berets and boys wore caps.

The grounds were completely undeveloped and no sports facilities were provided. Ground was available for a rugby field but dense bush had to be cleared and levelling was essential. Soon this task was undertaken by the Divisional Council and pupils planted the grass. Rose bushes, shrubs and trees were bought to beautify the grounds. Funds were raised by weekly film shows, levies and fetes.

The growth of the school was rapid and in March 1951 the principal anticipated an enrolment exceeding 500. The Education Department was to be requested to provide prefabricated classrooms. At this stage it was also felt that the school be declared an English Medium school as the area was predominately English-speaking. In 1951 application was made to the Department for Junior High status as parents were experiencing difficulty having their children enrolled at high schools – Bergvliet High School had not yet been built.

School Buildings

BPS Entrance

The current school buildings are situated between Children's Way and Alphen Way and are equipped with numerous sporting facilities. The school has its own swimming pool where many inter-school galas are held during the summer terms. A number of tennis courts are also available to the students.

The school boasts a state of the art media center housing a modern computer lab with 40 PCs available for student use. In addition to the computer lab, the school houses its own considerably large library where students may loan classic English literary novels. The library also has a dedicated Afrikaans section, providing learners with a multi-lingual environment.

BPS Quad

Also located in the media center is the renowned Bergvliet auditorium, which can comfortably seat 150 learners and is equipped with a plasma screen TV and air conditioning. The main school building houses over 50 classrooms, as well as an up-to-date music department. A Pre-Primary School is also located on the premises and has its own large quad located in the heart of the school.

Sporting Activities

Swimming Pool

The students from Bergvliet Primary School compete in a wide variety of sporting activities. The school is divided up into three houses which compete in annual inter-house sporting events. The events range from Soccer and Athletics, to Hockey and Tennis.

The students take part in sporting competitions with schools from the Western Cape and sometimes from other parts of South Africa. Occasionally the school plays host to visiting teams from other countries, such as Africa, Europe and North America and Australia

Tennis Courts

The school has a proud sporting heritage and is dominant in most sporting areas. For years the school has dominated both the boys' and girls' hockey leagues as well as being virtually undefeated. Additionally, the Bergvliet Swimming Team has a reputation for being one of the strongest and most successful in the Western Cape.

Bergvliet Primary offers the following sporting activities for students throughout the year:

• Cricket
• Hockey
• Netball
• Tennis
• Athletics
• Swimming
• Soccer
• Chess

Notable alumni

• Bob Burnquist (Current Professional Skateboarder and X-Games Gold Medalist)
• Pete Cortese (Former Guitarist for Heavy Metal band Killswitch Engage)
• Ronald van der Walt (Olympic Gold Medalist for Judo)
• Chavi Embula (Former SABC news anchor)
• Greg Pienaar (South African Fly Fisherman)

Coordinates: 34°02′46″S 18°27′36″E / 34.046096°S 18.459905°E / -34.046096; 18.459905