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The next step in the construction of a new school building for Crestway High School has taken place on Friday.
The Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works’ education infrastructure delivery directorate handed over the contract and architectural plans to the school, which will see the school move to a new building, behind the current site, by mid-September next year.
A tender was accepted a few weeks ago and granted to Haw & Inglis Projects. The 14-month project will see the R56m construction take place at a vacant site, next to the school in Joe Marks Boulevard (erf 107335).
A penalty fee of R11 500 (excluding VAT) will be charged for every calendar day the project is late by.
The new replacement Crestway High School will be based on Sinenjongo High School, which was completed in Milnerton recently, and it would be made up of a portal steel frame structure with a face brick exterior.
The new school will have space for 1110 children and will be equipped with 30 classrooms, including two science labs, a consumer studies classroom, multimedia centre, a multi-purpose classroom as well as a 555m² hall, administration block with auxiliary storage spaces and new ablution facilities.
Vernon Säfers, principal of Crestway High, says that although the process has taken two years to get to this point, he is extremely excited to be taking the next step.
“Last year, we had the honour to visit one of the schools that they are busy working with. Then it was where the excitement really started to kick in. All the processes at the moment; plans and everything, we had seen before as well as the cost of the building. It was something really spectacular when they stepped in here on Tuesday and the process in 2017 was approved and ready to go,” he says.
One of the teachers at the school, Ashley Jaftha, echoed Säfers’ sentiments.
“We are extremely happy and we are looking forward to it. It has been a long time coming, so we are excited and we think it is going to uplift the school, community and the broader area as well.”
The school will now establish a steering committee to liaise with the community and contractors who will start working on the site.
“We know how important it is and we are not going to cause any delay. We need to prepare our learners and need to adhere to regulations from our side. We need to make sure that we are ready to go in there when we step into the new space. There are a few things that we need to get right on this side: We need to appreciate and ensure that we inculcate values into our children to make sure they understand what it means to move from one space to another. That for us is very important,” explains Säfers.
He adds that the safety organisations, which include the neighbourhood watch in the area, have come on board to help secure the construction site together with the existing school building. Säfers, along with deputy principal Cheryl Jacobs, implored the community to work together to ensure that the school can be built as quickly as possible, without any major hiccups.
“I am very excited, not only for us as a school community but for the community at large, especially with what is happening. Nothing good seems to be happening right now in our communities, because we have lost two of our boys aged 16 and 14 within a month, due to the shooting and gang violence. I hope that the new school will be a beacon of hope for the whole community, not only the Crestway community will benefit, but the community at large. My appeal to the community at large is that they will respect the new building and embrace the new development,” Jacobs says.
