EMIHLE MBANGATHA
Greenpoint Secondary School, a celebrated scholastic jewel in East London’s Buffalo Flats community, celebrated its 40th anniversary on August 8, with past and present teachers and pupils.
Greenpoint principal Jeremy Martin has been a teacher there for 37 years and principal for 12 years.
“Greenpoint has achieved so much since I started in 1987 in all spheres of schooling life, whether it was sport, culture and academics.
“For the past three years, we have been obtaining a matric pass rate above 90% with a large group of 160 pupils.
“In 2023, our pass percentage was 94.5%, and more than 60% of them obtained bachelor’s passes,” Martin said.
He said the school offers a wide range of athletic activities for pupils to participate in and that it produced a variety of pupils who are currently players for major teams in SA.
Martin said that they had soccer teams for both girls and boys, rugby and netball.
“We have many cultural clubs that are running, such as our interact club, which is doing community work with an old age home and with the Duncan village orphanage.
“We also have the Students’ Christian Organisation, running during breaktime, so we have our foundation firmly in Christ.
“We are proud of ourselves in the fact that we have a good team as far as our teachers are concerned.
“Through the years, those teachers, including myself, have been chief markers and moderators in different subjects in this province, and it makes a strong team that teaches grade 12 but it can be tough at times; nothing is easy,” he said.
He stated that the school has received applications that exceeded the space they had for new pupils, saying: “The school is in demand.
“We have 150 spaces next year for grade 8, and we have already received 900 applications for those spaces, so it is an affordable school counter for a quality education and quality sports and cultural activities.”
Greenpoint school governing body (SGB) chair Renee Matthews said: “I’m reflecting on the profound impact this institution has had on many pupils, teachers, and community members as we celebrate our anniversary.
“Celebrating 40 years of excellence, I am honoured to be part of this celebration.
“It is a significant milestone, not just in the life of a school but in the lives of everyone connected to it.”
She said that working with the school had been a great experience because she had witnessed the school’s commitment to enforcing excellence and growth for its pupils.
“I started serving on the SGB as chair this year, and I have witnessed the school’s commitment with dedicated teachers to fostering academic excellence, nurturing creativity, and promoting a sense of community among pupils, staff and parents.
“The values instilled within these walls have helped shape generations of pupils into responsible, thoughtful, and engaged citizens,” Matthews said.
She said: “Greenpoint Secondary’s 40th anniversary is a testament to the dedication of everyone who has walked through its doors.
“It’s a time to celebrate our shared history, acknowledge our achievements and embrace the future with optimism and enthusiasm.”
Greenpoint’s former principal, Eldred Fray, said that he was the principal of the school in 1984 and was one of the people responsible for starting the school.
“Three of us who served as principals at the school decided to start the school, and we came up with the idea of founder’s day with the hope of addressing the parents of our experiences at the school about the foundation we shared at that time where we talked about discipline and an analytical approach to education and to prepare the pupils for the world out there,” Fray said.
He added that the fact that the pass rate rises each year makes him extremely proud of Greenpoint’s accomplishments and its leadership.
“Every year they achieve with a 90% pass rate and that the school is involving itself in so many activities, excelling academically and in sports,” Fray said.
He said that the discipline of the school encourages parents to send their children there.
