Bergvliet Primary School
Motto	Servimus We Serve
Badge	Erica Erica Erica ,the heaths or heathers, is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance....
Established	20 January 1950
Type	Primary School
Headmistress	Mrs L De Beer
Location	Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality... , South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Enrollment	700 Pupils
Houses	Eksteen (Red) Hertzog (Blue) Jeffcoat (Yellow)
Homepage	http://www.bergvlietprimary.co.za

Bergvliet Primary School is a co-educational primary school located in Bergvliet

Bergvliet

Bergvliet is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. Bergvliet, which means " Mountain Streamlet " in Afrikaans, is bordered by Retreat, Meadowridge, Kreupelbosch, Tokai, and Heathfield....

, Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Founded in 1950, the school currently has over 700 students enrolled, offering education from Reception Grade to Grade 7.

History

After the Second World War, 1939–1945, an entirely new suburb of Cape Town was established to provide accommodation for ex-servicemen. The Bergvliet Housing Scheme attracted many young families and soon the completed buildings were occupied. A beautiful, modern primary school was built in 1949 ready for the first term of 1950.

The original main building consisted of twelve airy and gaily-painted classrooms and two adjoining K.G. rooms with an interleading sliding door so that this area could also be used as a place of assembly.

There was also a principal’s office (now being used as a secretary’s office), staff room (now being used as the principal’s office), bookroom and toilet facilities for the staff and children. There was also a kitchen which was sometimes used by the K.G. children when they baked gingerbread men. Outside, there were two covered bicycle shelters each approximately twenty metres long. The original cost of the school and out-buildings was about R56 000 (£28 000).

The enrolment was about 174 in a school designed for 500 pupils. Although the school was intended to be dual medium, very few Afrikaans speaking parents applied for admission for their children. The colour of the uniform was bottle-green and white. The badge – a variety of Erica – was designed by Mr Walters and the motto - Servimus – was added by Mr Breetzke. In the summer the boys were allowed to wear khaki shorts and shirts with sandals. Girls wore berets and boys wore caps.

The grounds were completely undeveloped and no sports facilities were provided. Ground was available for a rugby field but dense bush had to be cleared and levelling was essential. Soon this task was undertaken by the Divisional Council and pupils planted the grass. Rose bushes, shrubs and trees were bought to beautify the grounds. Funds were raised by weekly film shows, levies and fetes.

The growth of the school was rapid and in March 1951 the principal anticipated an enrolment exceeding 500. The Education Department was to be requested to provide prefabricated classrooms. At this stage it was also felt that the school be declared an English Medium school as the area was predominately English-speaking. In 1951 application was made to the Department for Junior High status as parents were experiencing difficulty having their children enrolled at high schools – Bergvliet High School had not yet been built.

School Buildings

The current school buildings are situated between Children's Way and Alphen Way and are equipped with numerous sporting facilities. The school has its own swimming pool where many inter-school galas are held during the summer terms. A number of tennis courts are also available to the students.

The school boasts a state of the art media center housing a modern computer lab with 40 PCs available for student use. In addition to the computer lab, the school houses its own considerably large library where students may loan classic English literary novels. The library also has a dedicated Afrikaans section, providing learners with a multi-lingual environment.

Also located in the media center is the renowned Bergvliet auditorium, which can comfortably seat 150 learners and is equipped with a plasma screen TV and air conditioning. The main school building houses over 50 classrooms, as well as an up to date music department. A Pre-Primary School is also located on the premises and has its own large quad located in the heart of the school.

Sporting Activities

The students from Bergvliet Primary School compete in a wide variety of sporting activities. The school is divided up into three houses which compete in annual inter-house sporting events. The events range from Soccer and Athletics, to Hockey and Tennis.

The students take part in sporting competitions with schools from the Western Cape and sometimes from other parts of South Africa. Occasionally the school plays host to visiting teams from other countries, such as Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

The school has a proud sporting heritage and is dominant in most sporting areas. For years the school has dominated both the boys' and girls' hockey leagues as well as being virtually undefeated. Additionally, the Bergvliet Swimming Team has a reputation for being one of the strongest and most successful in the Western Cape.

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Bergvliet Primary offers the following sporting activities for students throughout the year:

• Cricket
• Hockey
• Netball
• Tennis
• Athletics
• Swimming
• Soccer
• Chess

Notable alumni

• Bob Burnquist (Current Professional Skateboarder and X-Games Gold Medalist)
• Pete Cortese
  Pete Cortese
  Pete Cortese is the guitarist for the pioneering metalcore band Overcast. He also played guitar for the rock group Seemless. He appeared in Killswitch Engage for a short period of time....
  
   (Former Guitarist for Heavy Metal band Killswitch Engage
  Killswitch Engage
  Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer...
  
  )

• Ronald van der Walt (Olympic Gold Medalist for Judo)
• Chavi Embula (Former SABC news anchor)
• Greg Pienaar (South African Fly Fisherman)