Search the Community

In 1951, shortly after its completion, floods swept the first bridge that was built across the Nahoon River away. The original Batting Bridge that was completed in 1953 suffered a similar fate. In 1965 Beaconhurst Estate and Bonza Bay Village combined to form a Village Management Board. This new board was granted municipal status in 1968 and became known as Beacon Bay, with its mayor, town clerk, and councilors. Beaconhurst Primary School opened on January 21, 1959, as a temporary school, in a house – 4 Hillcrest Drive- with Mrs. van Rooyen as temporary headmistress. Most of the Bonza Bay residents, however, did not send their children to the newly established school and only 14 pupils enrolled. In 1959 Mr. J.J. Coetzer was officially appointed as principal. There were 26 pupils and he had one assistant teacher, Mrs. Anna Wanda Willis, to help him. Mrs. Willis was in charge of the Sub A – Std 3 learners and Mr. Coetzer was in charge of the older learners. The lounge and a bedroom served as the first classrooms. Mrs. Willis taught in the lounge. The kitchen eventually became the third classroom. Mr. Fred Cooper, a member of the Provincial Council invited Dr. Smith, the Director-General of Education to visit the premises. Soon afterward plans for a school building were approved. On 21 September 1962 Mrs. Ruth Mc Jannet, Chairman of the School Board, laid the foundation stone to the new building that consisted of 2 kindergarten and 2 Junior primary classes, an office block, and a staffroom. The building was officially opened by Dr. D.J. Liebenberg, the Superintendent–General of Education, on 23 March 1963. There were 75 pupils and the teachers were Mrs. Willis, Miss. Motor, Miss. Maclachlan and Mr. Coetzer. The enrolment soon increased to such an extent that the staffroom and even one of the storerooms were used as classrooms. In 1966 ten more classrooms were added. In 1968, the Department purchased the original Beaconhurst Tennis Club to accommodate the school’s growing needs. Today these facilities are known as the Foundation Phase Campus and it accommodates all learners from grade R to grade 3. The principal and Mr. Chapman, a school committee member, flew to Cape Town to discuss further developments with the Chief Provincial Architect, Mr. Clark. This resulted in further classrooms being built. The single-story section was changed to a double-story and the school hall was added. The cornerstone was unveiled in 1972 by Mr. Fred Cooper of the Provincial Council. On 3 May 1973, the new extensions were officially opened by Minister Chris Heunis. After 10 years of hard work and planning the current main campus building was eventually completed to host between 750 – 800 pupils. Mr. J.J. Coetzer retired in 1989, after serving the school for 30 years as headmaster. Mr. Lyndon van Hoeslin was appointed as the second headmaster of Beaconhurst in 1990. The PS (Prestige Student) System was introduced in the same year. In 1991 the school blazer was replaced by the wearing of a school tracksuit. Mr. Van Hoeslin retired in 1993 and Mrs. Barbara Taljard held the acting appointment until 1995 when Mr. P.K. Mey was appointed as the 3rd Headmaster at Beaconhurst Primary School. In 1997 Beaconhurst Primary School took the first tentative steps towards becoming a combined school when it applied for permission to extend its curriculum to grade 12. After two years of preparation, the school had its first intake of grade 8 learners. There were 17 of them! At the same time, the name was changed to Beaconhurst School. To accommodate the growing needs of the school, the Foundation Phase Campus was built on the Delta Park complex adjacent to the school’s tennis courts and swimming pool. It was officially opened on 22 March 2000 and accommodates the Pre-Primary and Foundation Phases. In 2003, a Beaconhurst dream was fulfilled when the first matric class achieved a 100% pass rate in the final matric examination. That year we had our first Valedictory Service and it was fitting that Founders’ Day was reintroduced. Beaconhurst School is proud to have our uniform shop on its premises. The Beaconhurst School Uniform shop is part of the Beaconhurst School Trust. The uniform shop has recently come under new school-provided management, management that is determined to provide better quality merchandise and more efficient service. The uniform shop offers the best quality school merchandise for the best prices. Everything that your child needs concerning the school uniform can be found at our uniform shop. We have spacious, clean, well-equipped classrooms and a wonderful playground with specially designed apparatus which allows our learners to develop both physically and mentally. Our Pre-Primary area is well fenced and provides a safe, secure space for our little ones. Our proximity to the Grade 1 classrooms means that the transition to “Big School” is a very easy one for our Grade R learners as they are familiar with the environment. We strive to be well informed of the latest developments in Education. Our educators regularly attend training workshops and courses. The learner always comes first and we, therefore, pride ourselves in the high quality of education we provide and limit unnecessary interruption to their education. At Beaconhurst School we encourage our learners to strive to reach their full academic potential. We offer various subjects that our learners can take part in. Beaconhurst has motivated and supportive staff who assist our learners in a friendly and caring environment. View full school