Our school is celebrating its 64th Anniversary this year. It started out as a privately run school in a cottage in the garden of 67 River Road. In the middle of 1959, Walmer parents were faced with a crisis when two existing nursery schools in the area were about to close down. In August of that year a meeting of all interested parents was called and a steering committee formed to investigate the possibility of starting a fully-fledged pre-primary school.

A public meeting was held in the Walmer Town hall where the speakers were Mrs Peggy Lincey and Mrs Phyllis Birin, both trained nursery school teachers. Other speakers were Mr Meredith Wood and Mr K McIntyre, principal of Fourth Avenue Primary School.

A banking account was bravely opened with nothing to put in it but the shillings that committee members paid for their teas! However by the November, through the hard work of the committee and helpers, a lot of equipment had been made, 60 pounds was in the bank, and the premises at 67 River Road were cleaned, scraped and painted by the committee. That little school opened on 25 January 1960 with 45 children under the supervision of Ms Tessa Sharwood assisted by Mrs Val Bester.

The school was officially opened by Mr Jock Omond at a function attended by the mayoresses of both Port Elizabeth and Walmer and some 80 people.

In order to secure the future of the school the management committee approached the Walmer municipality for ground to build their own school on. At about the same time the management committee also made a successful application to the provincial education department for a per capita subsidy for the children in the school in order to assist in funding the running costs of the school which, until that time had to come solely from school fees.

June 1962 brought the news that permission had been granted to purchase a piece of ground adjoining Clarendon Park Primary School. This was acquired at a nominal cost and 51 Church Road became the permanent home of the school.

An old crèche was purchased and moved, literally brick by brick, to 51 Church Road. Med Woods and Roger Long (after whom two of our buildings are named) were very involved in building and establishing the school. In January 1964 the school consisted of the Meredith Woods building that housed the offices and accommodated 45 children. Mrs Joyce Muggeridge was appointed principal of the new school that was officially opened by the mayor of Walmer on 18 June 1965.

Growing demand for places saw the next extension, the Roger Long building, which could accommodate another 50 children, opened in April 1969.

Mrs Brenda Southey took over from Mrs joyce Muggeridge in 1971 and headed the school until she retired in 1991. The demand for places continued to grow until in 1985 a fifth classroom was added. Another milestone was reached when the school became multi-racial in 1991.

The Education Department per capita subsidy system changed in 1976 when the DOE assumed responsibility for the salaries of pre-primary teachers and Walmer Pre-Primary was granted one principal and three teaching posts. All other expenses in running the school still remained the responsibility of the Governing Body. In spite of the increased pupil numbers the DOE has not provided the school with any further teaching posts and the Governing Body currently pays four teachers, principal and secretary.

In 1992 Mrs Zilia Simpson was appointed principal when Mrs Southey retired.
Mrs Simpson remained at the school until February 1997 when she took up a promotion post in the DOE. Mrs Val Coetzee was appointed as principal from January 1998, taking over from Mrs Annamarie van Deventer who was acting principal in the interim period.

In 2010, responding to growing demand again, the Governing Body is planning to build a new Grade 00 classroom and a larger multi purpose room to accommodate therapies, extramurals, meetings, etc.

Through all this growth and development there has been two consistent elements at play, viz. a dynamic staff team and a body of parents who have worked together to grow and develop the school in the interests of the educational needs of children. All the funds for the land, buildings and equipment in this school have been provided through the generous efforts of 64 years of committed parents and are held in trust by the Governing Body for the benefit of future generations of Port Elizabeth children.