The school for street children and at-risk kids is racing to convert a Somerset West house into a full campus before their current Victoria Street site is demolished.
A major transformation is underway at 5 Dundas St, just off Strand Main Road, as a former residential house is being restructured into a new campus for Tereo. The school, which currently operates from a property at 91 Victoria Street in Somerset West, serves approximately 120 to 150 street children and at-risk children who would otherwise lack access to formal education.
“They wouldn’t have a place in school; they would be out on the street if they didn’t have Tereo,” says John Whitfield, a retired engineer and Tereo board member who I spoke to while he was volunteering his time to manage the site.
The relocation is a necessity for the institution. The current Victoria Street site sits within the Lourens River floodplain and is earmarked for demolition by the housing department. A private donor purchased the new Dundas Street property to ensure the school has a permanent home. With the lease at the old site coming to an end, the project team is now working against a 90-day countdown to have the facility ready for the start of the new academic year.
Restructuring a residential site
The project is far more than a simple renovation. Whitfield explained that the property was a standard house and required a full rezoning process through the municipal council. The existing house will be converted into the main administration block, housing the headmistress’s office, admin offices, and a computer room for the pupils.
To accommodate the student body, which is expected to grow to 160 children in 2027 with the introduction of a Grade R class, the site will feature eight classrooms. Two classrooms will face Main Road, while six will be positioned at the back of the property. These classrooms are prefab units that have already been purchased and are currently stored off-site. Work is expected to begin on the concrete bases for these units within the coming week, with all bases slated for completion by the end of October 2026.
Purpose-built facilities for at-risk kids
Because the school provides meals for children collected by bus from surrounding townships, the new layout includes a dedicated hall and meal area. This space is being created by extending the existing structure. One of the most significant construction tasks currently underway is the building of new ablution blocks, which Whitfield noted is a more time-consuming process than the classroom installation.
The plans also include specialised rooms for the children’s needs, including a counselling room and a library, which will be housed in the current garage space. Outside, the yard will be transformed into a playground and a vegetable garden where pupils will have their own areas to plant and grow produce. While a parking area for 16 cars is being installed to meet legal and council requirements, it will primarily serve staff, as most students arrive via the school’s bus service.
A bush theme for the new campus
The school plans to move away from a clinical institutional look, opting instead for a bush theme. The classrooms and buildings will be painted in earthy browns and beiges, with stone pathways connecting the different areas. Each grade level will be assigned an animal identity, such as lions for Grade 7 and leopards for Grade 6.
Whitfield emphasised that while the vision for the school is ambitious, the budget is strictly managed. “Within the budget that we’ve got, I think we’re going to do a fantastic job,” he says. The project relies entirely on the generosity of the community and local businesses to reach the finish line.
Local businesses join the effort
The site is already a hive of community contribution. Somerset Sand and Stone has donated materials, while cement has been delivered by TimBuild, having been paid for by an individual donor, Mr Visconti. Local plant hire company Blake’s Plant Hire, owned by Charles Blake, provided a digger loader (TLB) and operator for a day at no cost to fill in the old swimming pool and move sand around the site. “Charles was amazing. You can just see the people are donating stuff, and it’s wonderful,” Whitfield says.
However, significant gaps remain. The school is currently appealing for donations of water tanks for the vegetable garden, wheelie bins for the refuse yard, and equipment for a new industrial-type kitchen capable of feeding 160 children daily. There is also a push to increase the school’s solar capacity. While a small system has been donated, the project still requires additional solar panels, a larger inverter, and batteries to help manage long-term electricity costs.
As the 90-day deadline approaches, the board is inviting the Helderberg community to assist in turning the house into a functional school. Detailed information on how to contribute or donate materials is available on the Tereo website.
Progress on the site is expected to move rapidly throughout October and November 2026 as the prefab classrooms are trucked in and secured to their new foundations.
