Eastvale Secondary School (Springs)

Eastvale Secondary School in Springs, Gauteng. Springs. The name alone tells you everything you need to know. Not quite Johannesburg, not quite the East Rand's finest hour, just Springs, sitting there doing its best. Like a guy at a braai who showed up without meat but still wants a boerewors roll. Now listen, the no-fee thing is genuinely appreciated, government doing something right for once, but with 18 educators handling 528 learners, those poor teachers are not teaching, they are surviving. That is a 29 to 1 ratio. That is not a classroom, that is a taxi rank with a whiteboard. Your teacher could not see you at the back even if they wanted to, and trust me, by period five on a Friday, they did not want to. If you had a question you basically had to submit a formal application and wait three to five business days. The WCED would blush at those numbers, and those guys have seen things. Five hundred and twenty eight learners, eighteen teachers, one school in Springs. Somewhere in that building right now there is a Grade 10 learner who has not been noticed since orientation day in 2023 and is genuinely thriving because of it. Living his best invisible life. Respect honestly. Overall verdict: Eastvale is basically a government stress test disguised as a school, the teachers deserve medals and a very long sit down, but if you came out of there with a matric certificate you earned every single letter of it.