Our School History
St Paulus Pre-Primary and Primary School is situated in Brummeria, Pretoria East. The school is steeped in history, all beginning in 1960 when Mr Slade bought the “Mopani” farm, so named because of all the Mopani trees that grew there. Many of the fruit trees that grew on this 26 hectare fruit farm still stand today, and the original double-storey farmhouse is still the focal point of the main building.
With the guidance of the Dominican Order, the Dominican Sisters opened the school in the beautiful Mariakloof on 11 February 1962.
The school was inaugurated and blessed, and upon being handed the keys by the architect, Mr Hussey, Mother Vikaris opened the school with these words: “I open this door in the Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, His Holy Mother, Mary, and the Holy Paulus”.
The school opened with a Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 8 class. There were 28 pupils in total, and the boarding school had 5 boarders. St Paulus was the first Afrikaans-medium convent in South Africa. In 1966 the first pupils wrote matric, and in 1976 the school became dual-medium (Afrikaans and English). This was also the year in which pupils from all races were admitted, and a third language (Northern Sotho) was introduced as a subject. The school and its buildings expanded over the years, and currently there are more than 600 pupils. The sports facilities are upgraded regularly. The pupils used to swim in the reservoir, but the pool was built in 1965 – the parents and staff dug the pool themselves, sometimes working at night by die light of their car headlights.
The school hours have remained the same throughout the years. St Paulus has always been co-educational. The school uniform changed through the years and the colours today are blue, white and grey. In 1987 Mr Michael A Charles succeeded Sister Margaret Close as Principal, and in 2005 Mrs Madeleen Gorst-Allman succeeded Mr Charles.
St Paulus has always been a “family school” where it is important that everyone feels at home and welcome.
The motto of the school, “Veritas”, means “Truth”. That is why the principle of Truth in thoughts, speech, and deeds forms the foundation of the teaching of the pupils of St Paulus. We should face the future with the resolution to verify everything we do against Truth. We also uphold our maxim, based on Gospel Values: “Respect for Self and Others”
