A school built by Madikwe, for Madikwe.

Our story since 1972

Maimane Primary opened its first two classrooms in 1972, in a borrowed church hall behind the Manamela trading store. By 1986 the community and the then-Bophuthatswana department had built six classrooms on the present grounds, and a small office. The current main block was completed in 2004, with a kitchen for the National School Nutrition Programme added in 2011 and a borehole in 2018. We have grown slowly — never more than 200 learners — and that is part of how the work gets done. Every Grade R teacher knows every Grade 6 learner, and every parent knows where to find the principal on a Tuesday morning.

Our school today

Today we serve 122 learners across Grade R to Grade 6 (seven grade groups, multi-grade where needed), taught by four full-time educators and supported by an administrator, an NSNP coordinator, and a roster of parent volunteers from our SGB. Our average class is around 17 learners; our learner-to-educator ratio sits at roughly 30:1. The campus is half a hectare of red soil, an Acacia-shaded courtyard, six classrooms, a small reading corner, a multi-purpose hall that doubles as a dining room, and a vegetable garden tended by Grade 5.

What we are trying to do

Our mission is unfussy. We want every child who walks through this gate at age six to leave at age thirteen reading well in two languages, comfortable with numbers, curious about the world beyond Madikwe, and clear that they are loved here. We follow the national CAPS curriculum, teach in Setswana and English (LOLT) in line with parent and SGB choice, and run our school day to a schedule designed around hunger, distance, and how children actually learn. We are honest about what we do not have — but we are also honest about what we do.