Located in Brackenhurst, a suburb of Alberton, Laerskool Orion is one of the top Afrikaans schools in the south of Johannesburg. The school is conveniently situated close to the R59 Highway – granting access to the large number of Afrikaans-speaking children commuting from outer areas. As well as having a top primary school facility, Laerskool Orion provides foundation development, education and care at Orionland – the nursery school, housed separately from the primary school in a modern building, conducts the highest level of education for ages three to six. At all levels, Orion is a place for staff and learners to feel comfortable and secure in an atmosphere of caring and collective respect. Orion operates under the ethos that every child is a star, lovingly nurtured by the school’s teachers and its framework. Under the auspices of this, every child is valued as an individual and encouraged and driven to reach their greatest potential through the achievement of their own, personal goals. Every learner is given the opportunity to obtain the skills necessary to succeed at all levels of life, and to learn and prosper with enthusiasm for all of their endeavours. As well as boasting excellence in academics and a thorough footing for further years of schooling beyond their time at Laerskool Orion, learners are also offered a full range of sporting, cultural and academic extra-curricular activities to enhance their learning experience and develop their talents. In addition to the standard selection of traditional sports, the school also has Robotics for young engineers, Kwassie Kunsklub for those talented in art, drama studio, Junior Cricket Academy, Tina Cowley Leessentrum and Occupational Therapists among the offerings. The excellence of the level of coaching on the sports field and in the cultural clubs is evident in that the school has produced a number of Gauteng cricketers, rugby players and netball players in recent years, as well as having a learner who attained third place in the ATKV Redenaars Nationals for public speaking in 2010. With the highest standard of achievement in academics and in the extra-curricular arena, balanced by a sense of social responsibility through the school’s in-house feeding and clothing project for the poor in the area, learners receive well-rounded personal instruction and cultivation in an holistic sense.
