Rustenburg-Noord Primary School (Rustenburg)

Rustenburg-Noord Primary School, ladies and gentlemen. A public primary school in Rustenburg Noord, where 1527 kids are trying to get an education from 48 teachers. Forty-eight. That is not a staff room, that is a WhatsApp group. One teacher is basically looking after 32 kids at a time, which means if you raised your hand with a question in Grade 4, your teacher got to you sometime in Grade 6. Jy weet hoe is dit. Rustenburg itself is out there in the North West doing its own thing, platinum mines and dust and "no we are not Johannesburg but we are close enough." And this school has one thousand, five hundred and twenty-seven learners crammed in. That is not a school, that is a taxi rank with a timetable. Sports day must look like the Comrades Marathon. The principal probably does not know half the kids by name, he just points and says "hey, you, yes you with the jersey." Forty-eight educators for that many children is genuinely heroic, and honestly those teachers deserve a Bells and a long weekend because they are out here doing the work of a small army with the resources of a spaza shop. The fact that any child learns anything is basically a miracle and a testament to the staff who pitch up every day. Overall verdict: Absolutely chaotic, clearly understaffed, and held together with prestik and teacher tears, but somehow still standing and clearly built different.