Merrifield Preparatory School And College

Merrifield is a school that values the rich and learners who have parents working at the school. A lot is kept under wraps especially when it comes to students committing criminal offences, they’re given a slap on the wrist because of how much their parents contribute to the school. The racism is unfathomable, from teachers to ignorant students being racist. The school claims to be diverse and “takes issues such as racism seriously” yet has been the most noticeably racist school I have ever attended. I need to hang in there for a few more years so that I can finish matric and get the hell out of here, I’ll run and never look back again.

I Feel that Merrifield is an okay School but at the same time I also Think that the amount of money we pay is outrageous for the education they are getting. I rather stay Anonymous for this Review but my Child came to me today saying that He/She would get in trouble for Not having a name on Their LunchBag. I also heard that they had A Fun time at Camp. I was also told that The year before so to speaking last year they didn’t go to Camp but the Exact same grade Went this year and My child was upset but I hope this Review puts things in perspective.

Okay firstly once when I was in grade 1 a teacher (not my grade 1 teacher tho) shoved a Ritalin in my mouth without me and my mothers consent because I was being too loud. That day I had one of the worst headaches of my life because I had already taken my Ritalin that morning so technically she made me OD. Secondly the kids called me flat nose in class in grade 4 and the teacher just laughed. I also experienced a teacher exposing a child who had failed a test by writing his mark on the white board to humiliate him, all because he forgot to hand in his book at the end of a lesson. Merrifield honestly has never ever considered nor cared about their black students and I honestly went there because I got IEB education, but other than recieving my matric certificate, I regretted every single day that I went there.

I am a student at Merrifield.
I moved to Merrifield from a public school in grade 4. The classes are very small which allows for individual attention on the students of the school. Coming from a school where I was bullied I was nervous to move but when I got there it was like I was part of the family in a second. The school focused on me as a student and was extremely welcoming and understanding of the fact I suffer from anxiety, depression and ADHD disorders, they even had a school counselor fo the students like me and have a group of peer counselors for people not comfortable talking to the actual adult counselor.

Merrifield is not only a kind environment but also is of better academic quality than most public schools in East London. The work is harder but the school offers free tuition and also allows the learners to use their mind and not just memorize like my previous school made us do, this is extremely useful because that is how the real world works. Logic and application.

The high level of education and encouraged hard work will ensure That students are able to apply to any university in the world!!!

Merrifield has also started to take sports more seriously and has employed some of the top coaches in the province and even country. The sports program does not encourage over competitiveness but rather appreciation of the sport and makes its enjoyable for the students. Merrifield is the reason I started to get healthy again. The teachers were helpful and kind and did not make me feel bad about myself like my previous school.

I am a huge lover for art. The art teacher and system values all sorts of art and is open to originality. The school has also allowed me to attend an art school that does international exams. They were always supportive and encouraging of the fact that I as a 14 year old was asked to join a matric art group. Merrifield has just developed a new theater class and subject. This has brought such a lovely vibe on campus. The music and acting is appreciated and embraced. The cultural department is not as far as other schools in terms of size but as someone who has moved schools I can say that Merrifield has never turned me down in music and has only helped me and educated me on the subject of singing and musical theater singing. We have a fantastic marimba band who has come in the top 3 in an annual marimba festival for years. I am fortunate enough to be in band. The marimba and Jazz band is so fun and our teachers are so kind that it feels like you are playing with family not peers.

Merrifield is definitely the best school I have ever been to. They are extremely clean and value hygiene on campus and in the bathrooms which was not seen at any of my previous schools. The school takes human rights very seriously and makes sure the students are educated about human right and South Africa’s constitutional rights, this has allowed me to feel free to voice my political opinions and not be judged but rather asked as to why believe this or that making it a learning experience for all.
I love Merrifield and am so happy at the school. It’s always nice to have teachers value your soul over your appearance and to be able to be in such a diverse school where we can all feel safe.

Thank you for reading
Kind regards