Parents of learners at Wolraad Woltemade Primary School in Adam Tas Drive in Bothasig, can breathe a sigh of relief as their prayers may just have been answered.
Some parents who spoke to TygerBurger last month complained about the school not allowing learners onto its premises before 07:30.
They claimed that learners arrive early at school, some as early as 06:30 and 07:00, but that they would have to wait on the side of the road.
School principal Elaine Kesten directed media queries at the time to the school governing body (SGB) who responded on the matter.
Last week the SGB said they have decided to open the gates slightly earlier to accommodate parents and learners.
In a letter last week the SGB first explained that Wolraad Woltemade acted in its legal capacity with regards to opening gates for learners to enter the premises at 07:30 in the morning. Furthermore it stated that the school has always opened the gates at 07:30 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, during summer and at 07:15 during the winter.
“With this said we would like to use this opportunity to notify TygerBurger that the SGB along with Mrs Kesten has deliberated on the article published in February.
“We, as the SGB and teaching staff, have reached a consensus that the school gates will open at 07:15 instead of 07:30 from Monday to Friday, in summer and winter.
“As we have heard the parents’ concern and tried to accommodate their needs, we plead that parents would hear us, and respect the road rules around the school to ensure the safety of their own and others’ children that move toward and away from the school.
“We encourage parents to use the morning care facility if they need to drop learners earlier than 07:15.
“The school unfortunately does not have the human resource capacity to open the gates earlier,” the letter by the SGB and its chair, Steve Cloete, reads.
