Council

In 1918, in the midst of the first World War, Rev Edward Paget and a few others sat on upturned paint tins, daring to dream, wanting to open a little parish school. On 4th February 1918, this humble little school opened in Hudson House in Bunyan Street, Benoni. The journey started with one pupil and one teacher. An extract from the local newspaper that day stated, “Benoni is to have a first class fee-paying school for boys and girls, that will be received with pleasure. The new school is to be called St Dunstan’s”.

In 2000, the school Council embarked on a new chapter and purchased an unused open park in Rynfield, Benoni, from O’Reilly Merry to Millburn streets, up to the Linmed Hospital. With careful thought, planning and fundraising, the campus slowly developed. As funds allowed, the school was built piecemeal, with the Pre-School and College being the first to be completed, and year after year thereafter, different phases of the Preparatory School moved from town. In May 2008, the Pre-School, Preparatory School and College were finally all on the Rynfield campus, an expansive piece of land with the Chapel purposely centred on the property.

With time, the campus development continued and the school buildings expanded. The Landman Pavilion and Aftercare were built, the College hockey artificial turf and pavilion were added, the world-class E John Butler Centre for the Arts was designed and built, the Preparatory Sports Pavilion, pool, courts and mini artificial turf were developed and the Pre-School doubled in size, making it the most wonderful kiddies’ paradise.

The College Sports Pavilion that overlooks the Don Jones Cricket Oval, an athletics track and four new netball / basketball courts was officially opened in March 2024. Lights on both the oval and the hockey artificial turf have also been installed, which will cater for day-night events.

The College Council has carefully thought out a campus ‘Master Plan’. There are concept drawings for an Academic College build, a state-of-the-art building that will double the size of the available College teaching space and accommodate new and advanced learning initiatives. There are also proposals for a Sports Hall – an indoor centre that will allow training to continue when bad weather sets in, as well as to be used as an examination venue. Lined up are also, amongst others, a School Hall, a high performance centre, an E-sports centre and five-a-side sport turfs. However, the ‘Master Plan’ has been developed in such a way so as to not overcrowd the campus.

Why is this being done? As a school, it is important to give the best possible education to all the students, from the Quad Squad (Grade 0000) to the Matrics, with the school’s vision at the core – “Enhancing our standing as a leading independent, co-educational Christian school.”

In March 2023, Council members hosted a Strategy Day with participants from various stakeholders in the school’s community. The intention was for the Council and Senior Executive teams to understand what the expectations of all the stakeholders are and to develop and implement action plans.
Four high-level key strategic directions were identified:

• Teaching and Learning within the 4th Industrial Revolution
• Community and Society
• Growth and Development
• Marketing and Communication

Under the guidance of the Rector, Mr Taylor, and with the teams across the College, Preparatory School and Pre-School, these are now being developed into achievable smart goals that will enhance St Dunstan’s College’s standing as a school of excellence.