Rylands Primary School, which celebrates its 40th anniversary, was a dream realised for that community, when they took the initiative to establish a primary school.
On Wednesday July 24, the school community gathered to reminisce and celebrate its successes, with an interfaith service at its hall.
Before the school was built, Rylands High had to cater for pupils from Grade 1 to Grade 12.
According to teacher Sheela Morar, the principal of Rylands High School at the time, Ismail Waja, oversaw the construction of the primary school, and he also liaised with the then Indian Affairs about the development.
When it opened its doors on January 17, 1979, a total of 619 pupils were enrolled, with 22 teachers and six support staff.
“This was also the day our dear secretary, aunty Ayesha Ahmed started her job at Rylands Primary School. To this day she is still serving the school with dedication, commitment, efficiency and passion.We salute and honour her,” Ms Morar said.
The current principal, Yurashinie Naidoo, is the eighth to hold this position. She took over the reigns as acting principal after former principal, Mark Chetty’s retirement in September last year, and was appointed principal of Rylands Primary in February.
Ms Morar said Ms Naidoo serves with “a clear vision and purpose”.
“She wants our pupils to receive the best education and to become responsible citizens of our country. She is very compassionate, leads from the heart and cares greatly about the pupils, teachers and the support staff at the school. She guides and supports all members of staff so that our school can achieve high levels of efficiency,” Mr Morar added.
Ms Naidoo said the school wants to continue providing excellent education, “by employing dedicated, well qualified teachers, keeping abreast with the latest technology and offering a wide variety of extra-curricular activities. Our pupils need to leave the school with good values, morals and a sense of community,” she added.
Religious leaders and representatives from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) were among those who attended the ceremony to wish the school well.
Guru Krishna from the Siva Aalayam temple in Ruth Road, Rylands, said his association with the school started in 1990.
“When I moved to Cape Town, I had my first meeting here. My work started on this school ground. The school has a proud history of producing good leaders,” Guru Krishna said.
The School Governing Body (SGB) chairperson, Afzal Shaik, said over the years, the school has not lost its value of being community orientated.
“I started my schooling at Rylands Primary in 1979. I met my wife here when I was in Standard 3 (Grade 5). Many former pupils excelled in their careers and have become great leaders. The majority of the teachers never leave unless they go on retirement. The community also keeps the circle of success,” Mr Shaik said.
The WCED Circuit 8 manager, Anusha Naidoo, wished the principal well, “to take Rylands Primary on to the next path of success”.
In the early 1990s, with the new dispensation dawning, the school progressed from a school exclusively for Indian people, to a school for all race groups.
Ms Morar, who gathered the school’s rich history, said: “Pupils of Rylands Primary have indeed, over the years, made the school proud. In the year 2002 Rylands Primary made history when they came out first in an inter-school athletics competition. In 2003 one of our pupils became the national winner of a Heritage Day essay writing competition. In 2009, pupils participated in The Living Maths Mathletics Olympiad at the MTN Science Centre, and achieved commendable results when they came out in second and third place. Two of our pupils were also national winners in the Astronomy Olympiad organised by the School of Science”
She added that the school also had some glorious moments on the sports field and that many of their former pupils have realised their dreams as successful entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, scientists, chartered accountants, pharmacists and teachers.
“Over the 40 years a good relationship has been established with the parent community of Rylands Primary. Parents have played a significant role in fund-raising, assisting the school in various projects, providing us with their expertise and skills whenever it is required. The relationship between parent, teacher and pupil is crucial in developing a holistic human being with sound values,” Ms Morar said.