As the 2018 school year begins, Fourways welcomed a brand new school to the Beverley area.
The Bridge Assisted Learning School, located off Robert Bruce Road, officially opened its doors on 10 January under the helm of principal Retha van Niekerk and aims to help children overcome barriers to learning. Van Niekerk was previously the vice-principal of Newton House School in north-west Johannesburg.
“The children [that we teach here] include those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), anxiety, high-functioning autism and other sorts of learning difficulties, such as issues with auditory processing,” Van Niekerk explained to Fourways Review.
“I think there is a huge need for schools like [The Bridge] in every area of the country. We move away from competitiveness in education, and more towards participation in education.”
According to Van Niekerk, The Bridge is not a remedial school in the traditional sense of the word. The syllabus is in line with the Caps (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement) curriculum taught countrywide, and she believes that most (although not necessarily all) children who attend her school will be ready for mainstream schools after about two years.
“In order to help our kids overcome learning difficulties, our school offers very small classes and individual education programmes based on a child’s needs. Two therapy sessions per week are included in the school fees as well.”
On opening day the school had 32 schoolchildren in total ranging from Grade 0 through to Grade 4. Van Niekerk said the school is able to teach 200 children in total, but that this growth will happen organically as time goes on.
In terms of the school campus, plans are in place to start construction on a second school building in the middle of this year and will be home to the upper primary phase. The school grounds also has two tennis courts, netball courts, a mini sports astro and a soccer field as the school believes in the importance of sporting and cultural activities.
Details: www.thebridgeschool.co.za
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