Middelburg Primary School

Monday, February 2, 2009

A few pictures from the LRC Induction

The 2009 LRC was inducted !

On 2 February 2009 the 2009 Learner Representative Council of MPS were inducted. It was a beautiful ceremony during which the LRC committed themselves to serve the school and all the learners to the best of their ability.

History Of MPS

The school is a co-educational public school with 803 pupils, 24 government-paid teachers, 4 secretaries, 5 matrons, 31 general assistants and 11 governing body posts. It includes a provincial hostel with capacity for 194 boarders mostly from the surrounding environs.

WHO FOUNDED SCHOOL AND WHEN
The school was founded on the 17 January 1879 by the concerned community of Middelburg. The first and only teacher was a Mr. H. Blych.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Phase 1: 1879 to 1908
This was the first English Medium school in Middelburg. It was a private school with only one teacher, a Mrs. Fonseca. From 1880 until 1925 various schools catered for the needs of the English speaking community. The school was to be undenominational and doubled up as the English church on Sundays.

Phase 2: 1908 to 1921
The schools after the Anglo-Boer war were amalgamated and took up residence in the Middelburg Free School (the old Laerskool Middelburg and the Ebenhaezer School building). Lord Alfred Milner’s strategy of anglisation saw the combined school splitting a few years later.

Phase 3: 1921 to 1925
19th July 1921, the schools were divided into separate English and Afrikaans medium schools. Store Bros. Building in Church street was used to accommodate Std. 3,4,5 and 6 temporarily, while Grades 1 and 2 occupied the Junior school building. Shortly thereafter, the senior classes moved to the Ebenhaezer School Building. The first scholars’ reports were sent out in September, 1921. Mr. John Cox was appointed as principal of the English Medium School which had an enrolment of 292 pupils.

Phase 4: 1925 to 1947
By 1925 it was obvious, by the number of children living in and around Middelburg, that an English Medium School was a necessity. The result was the completion of a school on the corner of Wanderers and Coetzee Streets (Present day Army Commando Headquarters). The Director of Education, Mr. H. S. Scott, officiated at the laying of the foundation stone officiated on the 4 August 1925. The building in Coetzee street was occupied on 7 November.

The Administrator of the Transvaal, J. H. Hofmeyr. officially opened the new school on 6 March 1926 and called it Middelburg English Medium School. In 1936 the principal, Mr. John Cox, retired on 15 October.

Phase 5: 1947 to 1971
In 1947 numbers had dropped to 242, but by 1965, this school was again too small as it had grown in numbers to 400 pupils. It had once again become necessary to build a school big enough.

Work began on the present school – Middelburg Primary – in 1969. Staff reported for duty in January 1971. The school was officially opened on 4 November 1972 by Dr. Kotzee the then Director of Education.
Phase 6: 1971 to present

Although the new school was designed to house 650 pupils they are already 200 over. The school & hostel are housed on a massive 11 hectare piece of land. The community has been fortunate in that the executive structures have been stable with few changes , in fact they have only had 3 principals the past twenty-eight years, with Mr. Harry Rutenberg serving from August 1986 to present.

Middelburg Primary School

Monday, February 2, 2009

A few pictures from the LRC Induction

The 2009 LRC was inducted !

Important Dates

History Of MPS

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