Our School's History
Mary Harding School officially opened its doors on April 24, 1980, by its founder, Mary Harding. Before its transformation into a school, the site housed two hostels: Garden Home and Torrance Home. These hostels provided semi-permanent accommodation for children under the care of Cape Mental Health, as no school at the time could meet their specific educational needs.
Historically, Mary Harding School became renowned as the largest institution for learners with special needs in the Cape Metropole. Its reputation extended beyond local boundaries, attracting learners from as far as Namibia.
Learn more about us
Mary Harding School, situated in Athlone caters for children with barriers to learning. Our school supports learners with intellectual challenges as well as those on the Autism Spectrum.
Learners enter our school at the age of 6 and leave at the age of 18 for protective workshops, sheltered employment or where possible, employment in the open labor market.
Our school follows a curriculum that is adapted from the National Curriculum Statements. Our focus is on Life skills, Functional Literacy and Functional Numeracy. Using English and Afrikaans as our medium of instruction, we strive to meet education goals including (not limited to):
- To develop the potential of young people
- To help young people feel a sense of belonging
- To help young people feel a sense of personal worth
- To help young people feel a sense of purpose
Fees
The SGB determine school fees. Mary Harding School is a fee-paying school. The school fees per learner per year is R800, bus fees are R800 per learner per year and hostel fees are R2000 per learner per year, payable over a period of 10 months. It is compulsory for all learners to pay school fees. If parents are not able to pay school fees, they need to apply for a concession to the SGB. The SGB uses WCED guidelines to determine school fee concessions. It is the responsibility of parents to apply for the concession.
Hostel
The school has a school hostel. Admission is approved by the SMT (School Management Team) on recommendation of the SBST (School Based Support Team). The school hostel operates from Monday morning to Friday afternoon. All meals are provided when a learner is placed in the hostel. A learner's hostel placement can be reconsidered, should any challenges arrise. 24 Hour supervision for all learners at the hostel is provided.
The school hostel is regarded as a home away from home as well as an extension of the school’s learning programmes. Therefore, apart from providing care, nutrition and safety, learners are stimulated with self-help, leisure, social interaction, domestic and independence skills.
Meet our team
