A PEEP INTO AN EMERGING PRIVATE SCHOOL

26 Jul, 2015 - 00:07 0 Views
A PEEP INTO AN EMERGING PRIVATE SCHOOL

The Sunday Mail

Rishworth House pupils pose for a picture during play time

Rishworth House pupils pose for a picture during play time

Charles Mushinga – Bridge Editor

PRIVATE schools are sprouting all over Zimbabwe seeking to serve their respective communities and dissolve the very high student to teacher ratio at bigger schools which has surpassed 1:50 in many learning institutions.

The leafy suburb of Borrowdale has given birth to one such school named Rishworth House Preparatory School for Boys and Girls.

The Sunday Mail Bridge took the opportunity to find out if the school is anywhere near its fancy promises when they hosted an Open Day last Saturday.

A look at the hilly 7,5 acre property reveals a somewhat ambitious project that many parents wish their children were party to.

However, the first question that crops to any parent’s mind is “how much are the fees?”

The answer is US$1250 per term AND US$800 from crèche to Grade Zero.

The question of whether this is a decent or exorbitant price was thrown at the school head, Mr Hans Christen,

“I believe the fees are affordable especially if you look at what we offer our students. They get excellent academic nurturing in all subjects from Maths, English, Art, Music, Shona, Science, Life Skills, Social Studies and French (which is offered from crèche level.)

“IT is also studied and is a part of every subject,” he said before adding that they also offer activities like tennis, cross country, athletics, swimming, soccer, touch-rugby and rounders to adhere to the healthy mind in a healthy body adage.

Situated at the end of Toledo Close in Philadelphia, Borrowdale, the school looks like a ‘Porsche’ homestead, Mr Christen said the school seeks to do more than most private schools in the country which he admits, are out to fleece parents of their hard earned money by promising much but delivering very little.

“I believe the Rishworth House Directors have invested a lot in this school and continue to do so. We seek to nurture complete and respectable scholars and we try to fill up generally overlooked gaps that are in the education system.

“For example, we try to look for as many strengths and talents in our pupils by ensuring they get individual attention. Our teachers deal with only 20 pupils each maximum and they concentrate on each child’s special needs and abilities.

“Art for example, is a subject that is not given enough attention in many schools. Here the subject is taught in a structured manner, following a recognized primary school art syllabus. Children naturally love art and it stimulates and exercises the right side of the brain enabling pupils to achieve their mind’s full potential,” said Christen.

Christen is a former junior and senior school teacher in both Zimbabwe and Botswana. He left Peterhouse Group of Schools where he was an executive committee member of the schools’ board of governors and head of Peterhouse Girls’ History Department to join Rishworth House.

“I believe in this project and we will soon make this one of the best schools in Harare,” he said. “In 25 weeks of school, the enrolment here has risen to 112 pupils. We have started building the senior school and will have form ones and twos from next year. Our aim is to have only 300 pupils that we will give the best education possible.

“I have never been this busy in my life, prospective parents are always in my office and many nursery schools want partnerships so they can feed into our school,” said the visibly enthusiastic school head.

Most schools only introduce French to Form One students but Rishworth House offers the language from crèche level.

“Studies have proved that the best time to teach a child another language is in his/her first three to four years. When children immerse themselves in a language, through play and exploration, they can learn the language faster and easier,” said Christen.

He added that the school has partnered with the Computer Society of Zimbabwe improve IT proficiency in what is termed the “e-learner programme” which offers silver and gold certificates to able Grade 5 and 7 pupils respectively.

“Provision is being made for every child from Grade 1 to 7 to bring a laptop to school on a daily basis as the influence and importance of computer literacy cannot be ignored in today’s education. Our teachers also attend regular workshops hosted by the Cambridge International Examinations Syndicate since we offer the Cambridge syllabus to all our pupils,” said Mr Christen.

A dynamic multi-racial staff which Mr Christen describes as “multi-cultural and highly qualified and mostly products of Zimbabwe’s private school system” is in charge of pupils at the school.

Students, YOU CAN SEND YOUR ARTICLES THROUGH E-MAIL, FACEBOOK, WHATSAPP or TEXT Just app Charles Mushinga on 0772936678 or send your articles, pictures, poetry, art . . . to Charles Mushinga at [email protected] or [email protected] or follow Charles Mushinga on Facebook or @charlesmushinga on Twitter. You can also post articles to The Sunday Mail Bridge, PO Box 396, Harare or call 0772936678. To contact Rishworth House School, email [email protected] or call 0731505505 or rishworthedu on Facebook.

 

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