DELFT DRILL TEAMS IMPRESS
City law enforcement officers volunteer to guide learners and polish skills
SCHOOLS in the Delft area demonstrated their drilling skills at a competition at Mandela Peace Park in the area yesterday.
Four schools were out through their paces and Delft Technical High School won the competition.
The drill teams were established through the City’s Law Enforcement Neighbourhood Safety Team initiative, which included deploying school resource officers to cover 22 schools.
Two officers were deployed at each school after numerous consultations with the school officials and pupils.
The purpose of the programme is to create healthy relationships at schools that are effective and can potentially lead to academic accomplishments.
The officers and pupils who are part of the programme volunteered to be present during school breaks and at weekends to improve pupils’ skills.
A Western Province Marching Association member also volunteered to assist. The project helped prepare the schools for the marching and drilling competition.
At the competition yesterday, pupils from Voorbrug Secondary, Delft Technical High, Vergenoegd Primary and Hindle Road West Primary confidently carried out their performances after months of training.
Voorbrug Secondary came second and Hindle Road West Primary, third.
“There has been a lot of sacrifice from learners, but also our staff and a volunteer from the Western Province Marching Association who helped them get to this point,” said JP Smith, mayco member for safety and security.
“It was challenging, but I commend the learners who pushed through. They can be proud of their achievements. This serves as an example of what is possible through hard work and determination and hopefully signals the start of bigger things for these and other schools.”