Many are familiar with the adage, “It takes a village to raise a child,” but perhaps are not as familiar with its extension: “It takes a school to create a village” or, “It takes a teacher to bed down a school.”

This positions schools as centres of community development rather than isolated institutions, and teachers as agents of change. Education has always given people agency. Ask any adult to recall a school memory and many will associate it with a teacher.

Teachers are the key to sustainable change in education. By strengthening the quality of teaching in all schools, teachers can become agents of change who unlock learners’ potential, transform communities and enable cycles of opportunity to arise.

Khanyisa Inanda Seminary Community Projects (KICP) emerged from Inanda Seminary, the 157-year-old all-girls mission school, through the support of alumnae who believed that children on the margins should not be denied access to quality education simply because they could not afford fee-paying schools.

In 2016, KICP established itself as a teacher development organisation, offering student teacher internship programmes and professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders working in under-resourced schools.

How fitting, then, that Seaton House, in its founding meetings, chose to work with KICP to become an education hub, with spokes reaching into the greater iLembe community, offering professional development and coaching to those who may not otherwise have easy access to these opportunities.

There are many fine schools and teachers in this community – imagine if this part of the iLembe district became known as the community that worked collaboratively to resolve the nation’s literacy crisis?

Mother Teresa famously said, “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”

Perhaps this is what it means to build a village: schools, teachers and communities working together to create opportunities for every child.

Applications for 2027 are now open and interested families and education stakeholders are encouraged to visit www.seatonhouse.co.za or contact info@seatonhouse.co.za for further information on open events and to register interest. The school will also provide ongoing updates, events, and key milestones through its social media platforms.