Dunamis Christian Ci/S (Welkom)

Dunamis Christian Combined Independent School in Voorspoed, Welkom. Voorspoed, for those who don't know, is an Afrikaans word meaning "prosperity," which is brave naming for a neighbourhood in Welkom, a town that has been slowly auditioning for the role of South Africa's saddest ghost town since the gold mines packed up and left. But sure, prosperity, let's go with that. Now the school calls itself "Dunamis," which is Greek for "power" or "divine strength," and honestly that energy is needed because 29 teachers are handling 443 kids in the Free State heat with no boarding facilities, meaning every single one of those children goes home every afternoon and comes back the next morning full of questions and opinions. That is not divine strength, that is a miracle. The ratio is actually decent at 15 to 1, so at least the teachers can see your face when you are sleeping in class. The 90.5% matric pass rate is genuinely impressive and we will give credit where it is due. In a town where the main export these days seems to be nostalgia for the nineties, getting nine out of ten kids through matric is no small thing. The description they wrote about themselves is so plain it reads like a Wikipedia article written by someone who had load shedding halfway through and just gave up. Overall verdict: Dunamis is punching well above Welkom's weight, which admittedly is not the highest bar, but they are clearing it with a 90% pass rate and that deserves a genuine braai toast.