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New record number of KZN schools
accredited as Discovery SharkSmart Schools of Excellence
Durban – A slice of school sporting history was made this week when
the tenth school achieved accreditation as a Discovery SharkSmart
Schools of Excellence – the highest number of schools to be
accredited in the short history of the programme.
The four latest schools – Clifton College, Kingsway, Port Natal and
Glenwood - follow hot on the heels of St Charles, Kearsney College
and Crawford College La Lucia joining the early accreditations
for DHS, Hillcrest High and Maritzburg College.
“The programme has had a significant impact on our kids and they
have taken quite an interest in the various aspects of the
programme,” said Paul McKay of Clifton College. “Especially the
nutritional talk and all the information they received on
supplements and steroids.”
“To be accredited has really helped our parents consider rugby as a
safe option for their children as the programme ensures we take all
the necessary medical precautions and follow all the correct
procedures,” he added.
“The ‘Play safe, Play fair’ ethos certainly applies to all sports
and we’ve been very pleased with how our children have bought into
this code of play throughout all the sports over the course of the
year,” said McKay.
“The programme has had a big impact on our school,” said Kitty
Barnes from Kingsway, one of the newcomers to the programme this
year and certified for the first time. “We’re currently working
hard on trying to prove to everyone, especially those in our area,
that we are a competitive sporting school and that we do aim to
develop a holistic child and so being Discovery SharkSmart
accredited really helps us with this immensely.”
“Especially with us being new to the programme this year we really
tried to involve the whole school in the programme,” Kitty added.
“Things gathered momentum over the course of the year and everyone
felt a part of the process and so we’re really looking forward to
being on board again next year.”
“To be the first Afrikaans school to be accredited as a Discovery
SharkSmart School of Excellence really is fantastic,” said Port
Natal’s Jan van Staden.
“It’s been great to see how the programme has had a positive impact
on the discipline of our children on the field and how each child
has been able to take something valuable from the many useful
pieces of information given to them,” he said.
Glenwood High School enjoyed accreditation for the second year in
succession and Dean Sibson Sibson of Glenwood stressed that the
programme was a high priority for the prominent rugby school.
“To have been accredited as a Discovery Sharksmart School of
Excellence for the second year running really is a big thing for
us,” said Sibson. “We are privileged to be a part of such an
incredible programme and it is invaluable to both our pupils and
our staff to be associated to such an initiative.”
“We are finding more and more kids are buying into the programme as
time goes by and we certainly have noticed a significant reduction
in the number of rugby related discipline issues we’re having to
deal with," he said. “We will certainly be back next year and look
forward to trying to become the first school to be accredited three
years in a row.”
More information can be found at
www.sharksmart.co.za
ENDS
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