In a bid to bolster special needs education from both a quality and quantity perspective, Elsen Academy has thrown its hat into the ring to acquire the former St George’s Preparatory school premises.
The school has since launched a R4m fundraising campaign to help secure the historic St George’s Prep campus in Park Drive as its permanent home.
The Gqeberha school, currently located in Bird Street, caters for neurodiverse pupils and is among the bidders for the 30,000m² property, which is due to go under the hammer at a public auction on August 27.
Headmaster Mark Barclay said securing the campus would give the school a permanent home while preserving a property with significant heritage value.
“I believe we’ve earned our stripes and we actually do deserve a home for ourselves,” Barclay said.
“There’s no other school that’s for sale.
“We respect the history of the school and the building.
“When we move in we will maintain the school; we won’t change anything.”
Elsen Academy was established in 2006 and initially operated from a church building before moving into a house in Walmer.
It has been based at its current premises since 2009.
The school accommodates about 130 pupils, though enrolment has previously reached 150.
It caters for pupils with diagnosed learning barriers and provides specialised support from grade 1 to grade 12.
“Here at Elsen, we have roughly one teacher for every five learners, which means the learners get much-needed attention,” Barclay said.
“It’s a whole different philosophy of reaching children who just need a different environment, a much calmer environment, and teachers who buy into that.”
The proposed move would allow Elsen to continue its existing educational model at the St George’s campus while retaining the property’s existing character.
According to a letter sent to the Elsen community on July 30, the school has secured foundational bank backing through GBS Mutual Bank and committed existing school capital guarantees.
The R4m campaign is intended to strengthen the school’s bidding position, meet the auction deposit requirements and cover legal transfer duties and initial setup costs.
Barclay said the school was seeking support from families, alumni, businesses, trusts and philanthropic organisations as it could not compete with large commercial developers on its own.
The campaign letter states that donations made specifically towards the project will be fully refunded if Elsen is unsuccessful at the auction.
The school’s pledge deadline is Monday, three days before the auction.
Barclay said the opportunity was rare because the property was already suited to educational use and would allow Elsen to preserve its purpose while providing its pupils with a permanent base.
If successful, the school aims for the pupils to begin the 2027 academic year at the Park Drive campus.
Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald
