About Us
In 1944 a single teacher was sent to the Meerhof Children's Hospital for chronically ill and severely disabled children. There were no school buildings, books or equipment and classes were held in the hospital wards or outside under a thatched roof, weather permitting.
The hospital was built on the shores of the Hartbeespoort dam, 30 km west of the capital city Pretoria, in the heart of beautiful bushveld country. The first period of each day was a walk in the field, followed by more formal classes later in the day. The children could choose what, and how much they wanted to do. It soon became clear that neither sickness nor disability could break the spirits of the children and they preferred the constructive work in the classrooms to being idle in the hospital wards. School buildings were erected, more teachers appointed and books and equipment bought. Very soon the school section of the hospital was what gave meaning to the lives of the children.
In 1969 the facilities were transferred from the Provincial Hospital Department to the Department of National Education. Nurses' homes and hospital wards became hostels, administrative buildings and therapy rooms. Sport programmes and cultural activities were introduced and the now well known blue and yellow school uniform worn with pride.
Today Meerhof School accommodates 190 learners between the ages of 5 and 19 years, with special educational needs. Some of the learners have specific learning problems, but the main emphasis is on learners who are physically challenged. The disabilities found amongst the learners include severe ju- venile diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, paraplegia, quadriplegia, spina bifida and every conceivable degree of cerebral palsy.
The vision of the school is to lead learners from dependence to independence.
The multi disciplinary team, consisting of staff members, learners and parents, work together to develop the skills of each learner to their maximum potential. As end product of these endeavors it is hoped that learners will leave school well equipped to be productive, independent, happy and integrated members of society. This requires enthusiasm, dedication and creativity - all of which are abundantly present!
