The South African school nearing 300 years old

The oldest school in South Africa dates back to 1738, and continues to operate today in the small Western Cape town of Genadendal. 

A 90-minute drive from Cape Town, the L.R. Schmidt (Mor) Primary School is regarded as the oldest educational institution in South Africa, according to the Heritage Portal. 

The area of Genadendal was inhabited by the indigenous Khokhoi people when Moravian missionary Georg Schmidt arrived to establish the town.

According to the town’s information website, Schmidt formed a small congregation and began teaching the Khoikhoi to read and write, forming South Africa’s first school.

He also baptised local converts, which drew criticism from the Dutch clergy in Cape Town who said he did not have the authority to administer such sacraments, as he was not an ordained minister. 

Schmidt was forced to return to Europe due to this in 1743, leaving the mission station abandoned for 50 years. 

Three missionaries then returned, but continued to face objections. They were forbidden from building a church and even forbidden from ringing a bell to call the children to school. 

The community greatly expanded when the Khoisan laws of 1808 were instituted by the colonial government. 

Under these laws, all Khoi people without a fixed abode were liable to be forced into farm labour. Mission stations such as Genadendal offered locals access to land in return for converting to Christianity. 

This made the town the second-largest settlement in the colony after Cape Town at one point. 

The community also faced objections from farmers in the area. These farmers were largely illiterate themselves and were unhappy with the idea of an educated and skilled underclass. 

Potential farm labourers also flocked to the town to avoid working on the farms, causing an economic crisis. 

In 1838, the town opened the first teachers’ training college in South Africa. It began losing residents, however, in the 1860s, when people flocked to the bigger cities with new manufacturing hubs in search of work. 

Teaching since 1738

The L.R. Schmidt Primary School began with Schmidt teaching a group of 19 learners under a pear tree near his home, reading, writing, gardening, clay building, and Christianity.

Throughout the town’s history, the school remained. One of Schidt’s converts, a woman who took the name of Magdelena, continued his work when he left and until the new missionaries arrived. 

When the missionaries arrived, they were surprised to find Magedelena, ageing and almost blind, still had a bible gifted to her by Schmidt, which became the first schoolbook of the school. 

In 1814, a proper school building was constructed, and the school took on the British education system, teaching bible studies, languages, history, geography, and technology. 

The first school name was given to the institution during this time; it was referred to as the “Juvenile School.”

When Louis Rudolf Schmidt, a German missionary, arrived in South Africa in 1895, he worked in Genadendal as a missionary, town doctor, dentist, land surveyor, and locksmith. 

The school was later named after him, acknowledging his contribution to the community. 

Today, the school is a quintile three, no-fee institution with about 430 learners taught by a team of 19 educators, according to School’s Digest. 

It teaches grades R to 7. Thanks to a Cell C and Department of Education initiative to enhance digital connectivity in schools, the school has a digital lab with laptops, a projector, a printer, and power points. 

It is connected with Cell C data, providing learners with internet access. Children who attend the school are given free meals. 

The school features extra-curricular activities, including Athletics, cross country, rugby, soccer, choir, dancing, singing, art, photography, drama, tennis, chess, volleyball, and softball. 

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