’Plain schools weather the storm

Mitchell’s Plain schools were battered by last week’s storms while pupils and teachers were given the day off for their safety on Thursday July 11.

The Western Cape Education Department, in consultation with the Provincial Disaster Risk Management Centre and the South African Weather Service (SAWS) closed schools in certain districts. The move proved wise because several pictures and videos shared on social media last week showed broken walls and roofs with sheeting that had blown off.

The Plainsman visited Spine Road High School, in Rocklands, and Strandfontein Primary School, which had both sustained storm damage, on Friday July 12. The schools confirmed the structural damage but said learning had not been interrupted.

The Rocklands school hall was being repaired when the storms blew off some of the roof sheeting. Spine Road High School’s general foreman, Victor Schoeman, said contractors were on site since April for the repairs. He said Thursday’s storm damage had been detected within hours which allowed them to minimise flooding and avoid irreparable damage.

“It was just the school hall roof that was affected. Classes are in session,” he said.

Western Cape Education spokeswoman, Bronagh Hammond, said the school had been upgrading its roof but had fallen victim to the strong winds and rainfall in recent weeks, which had caused further damage.

“The contractors were on site on Thursday and had addressed the immediate issue,” she said.

Strandfontein Primary School’s boundary fence was blown over, which was escalated to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

Ms Hammond said the department was yet to receive feedback on this.

“They are currently prioritising projects at schools,” she said.

Ms Hammond said that at Beacon Hill High School gutters had been damaged by strong winds which had caused leaks in some classrooms but she was still waiting on the infrastructure department for repair schedules.

In a media statement, Ms Hammond said the department’s default position would be to keep schools open but that they were mindful of the severity of the warnings in place and the damage already caused in certain areas.

Within last week, 137 schools had reported some form of damage to infrastructure, either as a result of flooding or heavy winds.

“The majority of the cases are minor, while 49 cases require our urgent attention,” she said.

All schools reopened on Friday July 12.