A school built around possibility

New Hope is a dual-medium public LSEN school in Pretoria, serving learners from Grade RRR to Grade 12. It is a school community built around a simple conviction: every learner should be able to take part, keep learning and move towards a future that recognises their strengths.

Academic, technical occupational and life-skills pathways allow education to remain purposeful as learners grow. The route may differ from one learner to another, but the intention remains the same—to develop knowledge, practical ability, confidence and greater independence.

Educators, therapists and support professionals work as one team around the learner. Progress is therefore understood more broadly than marks alone; it can also mean communicating more confidently, moving through the day with greater independence, joining in with peers or preparing for life beyond school.

Learners may need support because of cerebral palsy, physical disabilities, traumatic head injuries, specific learning disabilities or related barriers to learning. These descriptions help explain a support need, but they never tell the whole story of a child.

Placement follows the formal GDE process and considers whether the school can meet the learner’s educational support needs. The purpose is to find an environment in which the learner can access teaching, benefit from the available specialist services and participate meaningfully in school life.

Once a learner joins New Hope, planning continues through observation, communication with the family and collaboration across the education and support teams. Strategies can then develop with the learner instead of remaining fixed around a label.