The future of the historic St Anne’s Primary School in Southernwood is in doubt as the property it occupies has been sold to another school, leaving more than 500 pupils and dozens of staff in limbo.
The school, a public institution operating on privately owned land belonging to the Dominican Sisters, has until December to secure a new site — a deadline that has triggered anxiety among parents, teachers and school governing body members.
East London Science College has confirmed it is in the process of purchasing the property and plans to relocate its high school to the site to improve its educational offering.
“It is in process; we are the buyers,” the college’s founding director, Piyuse Thomas, said.
“We are buying the property for the East London Science College. We want to move the school from where it is now onto St Anne’s property.
“We can provide better education to our learners by moving the high school to the St Anne’s premises.”
The Thomas family is well-known in education circles in the Buffalo City Metro and is also behind St Joseph’s Preparatory & College in Beacon Bay.
The Dominican Sisters, who own the St Anne’s Primary property, are understood to have taken the decision to sell due to their advancing age.
A source familiar with the matter said the average age of the sisters was about 86, with fewer members able to sustain the group’s operations and properties.
The sale has placed St Anne’s — a long-standing institution in the area — in a precarious position.
School governing body (SGB) chair Gary Peterson said there was still no clarity on where the school would be relocated or what arrangements would be made for pupils and staff.
“We would prefer to remain in the Southernwood area, but ultimately our fate lies with the Eastern Cape department of education,” Peterson said.
He said the SGB had alerted the department as early as November, when the Dominican Sisters first indicated their intention to sell the property.
In the 1950s, the nuns took over an existing school on the property, which then became St Anne’s Primary.
The school was taken over by the department of education in the late 1990s.
The Dominican Sisters of King William’s Town is a religious order of Catholic nuns who laid the foundations of several schools still operating in the metro as well as St Dominic’s Hospital, which is directly across the road from St Anne’s
“We informed the department that this is the intention of the Dominican Sisters,” Peterson said.
“We wanted to notify them early and let them know that they needed to be involved with this process, and they had an opportunity obviously to put in a bid.”
He expressed frustration that the department had not acted to secure the property, saying an early intervention could have provided certainty.
“The department never approached the group; they never made an offer to purchase the property because that would have been the quickest fix and easiest solution,” he said.
However, under government processes, the acquisition of property for public use is typically handled by the department of public works and infrastructure, rather than the education department directly.
There is a lot of uncertainty and a whole lot of speculation … you can imagine for me it’s a double blow
For parents and staff, the immediate concern is the uncertainty surrounding St Anne’s Primary’s future.
One parent, who also works at the school, described the situation as a “double blow”, saying it affected both her livelihood and her children’s education.
“There is a lot of uncertainty and a whole lot of speculation … you can imagine for me it’s a double blow,” she said.
“I’ve got a boy in grade 6 who is supposed to be in grade 7 next year and then another one who’s just started, he’s in grade 1.
“They will be affected as well as myself as a staff member, not knowing what the future holds.”
She said the situation had left families dealing with “a cloud of uncertainty” and a mix of fear, disappointment and shock, particularly given the school’s long history in the community.
A meeting between parents, the SGB and the education department is expected within days, where officials are due to outline a plan for the school’s future and possible relocation options.
Eastern Cape education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said the department was aware of the situation and the concerns raised by parents and staff.
“Thus far the department is expediting all available avenues to ensure at the end of the day that their constitutional right to education is observed and upheld,” Mtima said.
He said the department would engage all relevant stakeholders “in due course” and provide clarity on the way forward.
For now, however, uncertainty remains.
The Dominican Sisters could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.
Daily Dispatch
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