TuksSport gets new building
The TuksSport High School's own new building, opened recently, has many unique features.
The TuksSport High School, which has since 2002 been home to young sportsmen and sportswomen serious about their sport and academic progress, recently opened its new building.
The school was first somewhat tucked away on the Groenkloof campus, but recently moved to a new and modern building complex that is part of the University of Pretoria’s high performance centre (hpc) in Hatfield.
Principal Hettie de Villiers said the new building reflected the school’s philosophy of balance between prowess on the sports field and in the classroom. The project was funded by the Athletics Foundation Trust.
The building complex comprised a double-storey administration block, assembly hall which can be used as a dining and study area, classrooms, a residential block for 96 pupils — eight single rooms and 44 twin rooms — and an open air amphitheatre.
According to the architect, some of the elements of the nearby Experimental Farm were incorporated into the design. This included the water troughs for quarantined animals which had to be preserved.
The trees on the terrain, which formed part of an old UP arboretum, also had to be preserved. This included three different species of the South African yellowwood tree.
Environmentally sustainable elements such as the orientation of the building, sun screen panels, water tanks, water saving sanitation ware and a heat pump formed were designed into the building.
The school had room for 260 pupils from grade 8 to 12. Pupils who excelling at swimming, athletics, triathlon, golf, judo, tennis and soccer were welcome.
The school schedule was flexible and custom-made to the needs of young sport stars whose sport commitments often posed challenges to traditional school programmes, De Villiers said.
Contact 012-484-1786/82 for more information about the school or go to www.up.ac.za/tukssport-high-school.
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