St Dominic'S Priory School (Gqeberha)

Ah, St Dominic's Priory School in Miramar, Gqeberha. A "Priory." Like monks live there. Brother Kevin is probably somewhere in a stone corridor chanting the timetable while 778 learners try to find a parking spot in the Eastern Cape's most dramatically named suburb. Miramar. "Look at the sea." Bra, you're in Gqeberha, the wind is trying to take your blazer to Uitenhage, and the sea is not the vibe you think it is. Now the description says "no boarding facilities" like that is something to be proud of. Thirteen educators short of sixty serving 778 kids, which sounds fine until you realise that is 13.6 kids per teacher, and someone in that staff room is teaching Life Orientation, Geography AND supervising the tuck shop on alternating Wednesdays. The IEB curriculum is there too, so at least the parents are paying premium for their kids to write slightly fancier exams and still panic during Matric rage in Jeffrey's Bay like everyone else. "Priory" also implies a certain holy seriousness, which is very ambitious for a co-ed school where someone's definitely been sent to the office for WhatsApping during Maths. The Eastern Cape is already doing the most, the province where load shedding hits harder and the WCED cannot help you because you are firmly in NECT territory now. But hey, 57 dedicated teachers showing up every day in Gqeberha deserves respect. Overall verdict: A genuinely solid school with monk energy and IEB ambition, doing real work in the Eastern Cape, even if the name makes it sound like you need a password to get through the gate.