Construction of Eerste River High School progressing well

The construction of a new high school in Eerste River is progressing well. This R60 million project was commissioned by the Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW) for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).

Construction started in June 2016 and is expected to have been completed in October 2017, if everything goes according to plan. Once the project is complete, the school will be able to accommodate 1 200 learners.

The classrooms and administrative building are currently under construction. Phase 2 will commence in mid-2017, including external works, landscaping and sport fields and the construction of the school hall. The school will have a number of green features. Rainwater harvesting facilities will help to irrigate fields and gardens and reduce operational expenditure in the long term.

Teaching facilities will comprise 33 standard classrooms, two multi-purpose classrooms, two science laboratory rooms, and a media laboratory. The complex will also have a hall with toilet facilities, an administrative building, caretaker facilities, and a sports field.

DTPW is committed to creating short-term local Expanded Public Works Programme employment and skills training opportunities. A total of 80 persons living within 5 km of the construction site are employed on the project. Workers are also benefiting from on-site training, e.g. scaffolding, life, and technical skills training. To date, a total of R5,6 million has been spent on targeted contractor businesses and R939 200 on targeted local labour.

WCED has budgeted a total of R1,29 billion in 2016/17 for building and refurbishing school infrastructure across the Western Cape.