Christel House SA Blog

 “Sword as mighty as pen at Cape school” -

Karen van Rooyen

Fencing usually considered an elitist sport, is gaining poulatirity in a part of Cape Town where most families battle to make ends meet. That is thanks to an international charity run private school, which caters only for children whose families live below the poverty line.

Christel House in Athlone on the Cape Flats has grown by two grades every year since it opened in 2002, and now pupils and their teachers are getting ready to move to new premises.

When Langa teenager Sandisiwe Dingane joined the school four years ago, she did not know a foil from a saber.

Now the 16-year-old can proudly say she has represented the country in the junior world fencing championships thanks to the opportunities she gets at the school.

She is one of 652 pupils from areas such as Manenberg, Hanover Park and Langa attending Christel House- for free. Other pupils are involved in sailing, ballet, karate and golf.

Christel House is one of five such schools around the world founded-and primarily funded- by international businesswoman and philanthropist Christel De Haan.

After starting out with 351 pupils at a church building in 2002, Christel House is reaching two important milestones this year- it has a matric class for the first time, and will move to its new R32 million premises in a few months.

School spokesman Sharon Williams said the new premises had been funded mainly by DeHaan, but that the school had still needed to raise R7 million. And even though parents were not obliged to contribute a cent towards their children’s education, Williams said there were those who donated when they could. “One mother started as a domestic helper, and when she got paid she came to give me R50.”

Williams said not just bright sparks were admitted to the school, which welcomed pupils whose parents could not afford to pay.