For more than a decade, the community of Botrivier has fought for a high school – and for more than a decade, they have been disappointed. Children have been bussed to schools 20 km away in Grabouw and Caledon, with parents paying up to R380 every two weeks for transport.

In 2015, land was allocated by the Department of Public Works to the Western Cape Education Department for a school. Nothing came of it.

But where government promises fell flat, a small group of dedicated residents refused to give up. In 2023, they regrouped, took a fresh direction, and decided to build something themselves – not a conventional high school, but an independent school of skills.

The organisation behind the vision is Overberg Our Community Our Future (OOCOF) a team of some 14 residents and associates of Botrivier who have been quietly working for the past three years to bring quality skills education to the village. Their goal is to give graduates of Overberg primary schools a real choice: an academic path or a skills path for their high school years.

OOCOF is now seeking funding to build an independent, low-fee school that will cater for 240 learners through four years of training. Land has been identified below the soon-to-be-developed TWK housing site below New France. To build on it, a portion of the existing property must be rezoned as educational and an environmental assessment carried out.

Jakes Gerwel

OOCOF is not navigating this process alone. The Jakes Gerwel Education Trust from Bonnievale – which successfully established a groundbreaking technical school in that town as a collaboration school with the Western Cape Education Department – is supporting OOCOF to put the building blocks in place and accelerate the process.While the team works behind the scenes on the school, OOCOF has already launched an interim training programme as the foundation of the forthcoming Botrivier School of Skills. Running from a workshop on the plein behind the Astra garage, 12-week training cycles have been planned for young adults between 17 and 24 who are no longer at school and are ready to commit to an introductory learning phase as Workman’s Assistants. Each cycle accommodates 10 trainees.

Botrivier is blessed with many talented residents, and OOCOF is proud to introduce its two facilitators: Frik Jacobs, who brings deep experience as a skills trainer in Richards Bay, and Andie Coetzee, with extensive experience at the education department’s district office. Together they guide the trainees through the programme.

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Building its own

At the conclusion of each cycle, every candidate who successfully completes the training receives a Testament of Attendance detailing areas of learning and aptitude. Although not linked to official certification, the testament is underwritten by the seriousness and integrity that OOCOF brings to the workshop.

The community that once protested along the N2, demanding a school that never came, is now building its own – and the first bricks are already in place.

For more information about the programme, contact Manie Carelse on 082 420 4343 or email oocof@outlook.com. Donations are welcome – contact Ebrahim Khan on 083 259 7425.