Smelter and mine builds new classroom

LYDENBURG – Lydenburg Smelter and Thorncliffe Mine recently built three brand-new classrooms for Laerskool Lydenburg.

The school was originally built to accommodate 750 learners. In 2002 there were 470 learners and the number has increased to 1249 in 2012.

The school expected 1 320 learners for 2013 which meant that it could only accommodate 71 more learners out of a waiting list of hundreds.

In 2009 a decision was taken to introduce English teaching and learning on request of the industries and mines in the area. The school obliged and started an English stream which covers grade R to four.

“In 2012 they required additional classrooms to accommodate the English learners in grade five and -six for 2013. They also required an additional grade-one classroom for Afrikaans learners.

If the school was unable to build these classrooms, the grade R and one English learners could not have been accommodated in 2013. Lydenburg Smelter and Thorncliffe Mine joined hands to provide funds for the construction of the three classrooms after receiving a request from the school governing body (SGB),” the company explain.

The smelter and mine received the request in November 2012, the constructed started early in 2013 and the project was completed in March this year. Students were accommodated in the school hall during the construction period and the classrooms have been operational since April 2013.

The total cost of the project was R850 000, Lydenburg Smelter and Thorncliffe Mine each contributed R425 000.

Company management said, “The Lydenburg Smelter is proud to be associated with a culture of learning, innovation and creativity. These character traits are found in the identity and ethos of Laerskool Lydenburg, and we therefore decided to augment their passion for teaching by contributing to the advancement of the English leg of the school’s curriculum.”

This is not the first time the smelter contributed to the well-being of the community.

During 2013, it constructed the Multipurpose Community Centre in Mashishing. “This project is a large investment in our local community and it was handed over to the municipality earlier this year. The project has been operational since the handover and some of the services that are not yet in operation will be up and running by December 2013.

Various smaller projects are undertaken by the smelter, including monthly support to Uzenzela Wena Orphanage, Rusoord and Kohin. Lydenburg Smelter will construct a day-care centre for the Skhila community during 2014 and will continue to support sustainable community initiatives that impact positively on disadvantaged communities,” the company said.

Messer’s Cornelius Lemmer, principle at Laerskool Lydenburg, Conroy van der Westhuizen, General Manager at Lydenburg Smelter and Johan Combrink of Lydenburg Smelter gets ready to cut the ribbon officially opening the new classrooms