Protea Heights Academy

PHA IS A GREAT SCHOOL PERIOD

Lovely school. Teachers are very kind and nice. The school field does not look good though. I would recommend it though.

I was a parent of PHA for 6 years and both my kids attended. I could not be happier with the way the school prepares kids for the real world! What you put in is what you get out. The real world is not going to coddle you and treat you like an entitled baby, because that just isn't how it works. Tantrums and toy-tossing are not the way to get things done. Hard work and conversation go a long way - of course, this does not mean that you will get what you want. My kids are now well-balanced young adults who are comfortable with themselves and have an open mind to how life works. They understand hard work and commitment. This is a Maths, Science and Technology school. Be sure that this is where your kid must be because you're putting them in a box. This school doesn't have all the subject choices that are available at other schools and if your kid isn't good with maths or love the subject, don't force them to take a bunch of subjects they can't cope with. And their rules... they are STRICT. And I LOVE it. If you allow one rule to be broken, like a button missing from a blazer, and then you let another rule slide, and another, eventually you're sitting with the type of high school that you DIDN'T want your child to attend in the first place. The reason you're choosing this school is because of its rules, regulations, and structure. Then we get to their support system. These people really love the kids who attend PHA. They support in every way possible for the needs of the kids, emotional, physical, mental, everything! Your kids are safe here. And if you're not happy - take your kid and go! Some of the comments on this site are ridiculous! Some sour lemons who probably caused their own issues and now want someone, anyone, to pay!

"...nothing changed in terms of the leadership at the school." No words could have been more incorrect. The current principal might value the same ethos, and indeed tries her best to live up to the legacy left behind by the previous principal. However, the things that have changed at PHA are evidence of the change in leadership. Racism, bullying and general acts of misconduct has significantly increased after the previous principal left. One could argue that this is due to the increase in students, but the lack of proper management of these situations is the reason. The current principal is obsessed with appearances; making PHA seem accepting and diverse, when it's not (anymore). Instead of addressing a situation, she tries to control it and sweeps it under the rug. The punishment for misconduct is inversely proportional to the actual misconduct. Saturday detentions were once the worst of punishments. Now it's given for something like incorrect hair. Basically, I'm trying to say that she doesn't know how to handle students. She refuses to acknowledge others' points of views, and this has caused conflict with students and teachers alike. The large amount of teachers who left last year should be proof of her poor relationship with staff. The previous principal had an aura that demanded respect, rightfully. The current principal has one demanding fear. I didn't mean for this to be an attack on the current principal, and I hope it won't be seen that way. I truly wish for PHA to become the school it once was.

Protea Heights Academy: A school where they only cater for the top in the school. A school where a blind eye gets turned towards bullying. A school where the TEACHERS bully, make sexist and racist remarks, get reported to the principal, and then suffer NO REPERCUSSIONS. Numerous, numerous teachers allow bullying in the classrooms. They themselves, sometimes bully. Students around you talk and disrupt the class with obscene topics, and the teachers, instead of teaching, join in and disrupt the teaching process. Unless you are a top 10 student, you will not get treated fairly and respectfully. Do not recommend.

Its alarming that any person can bad mouth an institution on such a public platform without having any evidence or knowledge of situations or circumstances.

It's really not worth it? They aren't as LGBTQ+ friendly as they appear to be, I've been called slurs and names in class and pressured to come out to the class multiple times with the teachers present not stepping in?? And don't even get me started on the racism? I've even been mocked for my tics, a teacher trauma dumped on me and invalidated my issues while I was having a breakdown. Some of the teachers are really nice like Ms Pentz or Ms Bosch, they are super sweet <33 plus one of the teachers is literally openly racist and nothing is being done??? TL;DR: Homophobia and Racism is very present amongst both students and teachers

Excellent teaching from dedicated teachers. Teachers offer extra lessons for free. The building is always clean and neat.

They issue a disciplinary hearing for a male educator who stepped out of line with his words yet a female educator who has sexual intercourse with a student faces zero consequences and is still held in high regard at the school. The so called equality and diversity at the school is a mere illusion. Equal punishment is needed. In PHA if you are not more qualified/in a higher position as a staff member or if you are not a top ten learner as a student, this toxic social hierarchy will lead to an individual always feeling out of place, pressured, disrespected and disregarded. I certainly do not recommend ANY person to work in this institution , nor any parent to send their child to this school, your child deserves much better. Rather not sacrifice their mental health and well being. Send them to a better school. The school was thriving with Ms Wendy Horn but after she left , it has led to a total downfall of a once amazing , welcoming environment for all.

PHA is one of the worst schools out there. The reason why I say that is because the say have respect for the teachers but the teachers don't have respect for the learners. That is why I don't like PHA.

As much as I want to rant about how s*** this school is , it can all be simplified into one word: Migraine When buying the anvil that they call a bag , be sure to buy some anti-stress pills and some therapy appointments

PHA is overhyped, it's not as good as it appears to be.

This school is so dom, like I couldn't even talk in class ?

Protea heights Academy is a school where if you're not a high achieved learner, they dont care about you. Protea heights academy only cares about their top 10 students, if even that.. maybe top 3. They dont care on helping you better your grades if you're not on that list. Dont be fooled though, they are very persuasive on telling the public that they do, do so. The teachers at PHA. i have no words for them... We're supposed to go to school to get an education and be ready for the outside world, yet the only thing i have learnt from these teachers is lying and manipulation. We're taught from young to respect our elders which i do, but teachers at PHA expect you to respect them, but they can disrespect you as badly as they want and you have to sit and be quiet. I have made a lot of mistakes in my past at PHA, but i have grown from them over the years and im young, yet can do that with in a year. These teachers (some of them) have been teaching for NUMEROUS years and still are manipulative and quite frankly i doubt they will ever change. The teachers that have had the most outstanding success in the school with learners AND parents, they all left all because of the same reason.. "PHA's management and the way they operate" neither am i surprised that they left either. it can't be a coincidence. Ms.horn was a very good principal. She knew how to handle the school really well with the learners problems and so forth. When Ms.horn left the teachers were fighting over the position like kindergarteners fighting over candy. Now ms.coetze is given the opportunity to be the stand in principal. MULTIPLE learners have stated that "the school is going downhill". Ms.Coetze has a very horrible way of talking to learners when they have issues with things in the school, its quite aggressive. There are multiple teachers at the school who are incredibly racist and sexist, yet PHA's management chooses to keep them because they cant afford to lose a staff member, again horrible management. i personally have experienced horrible encounters with teachers. I first thought what i heard from learners encounters with teachers were exaggerating the story, but i was very much proven wrong when i had a few of my own experiences with teachers. A teacher at PHA had said to my face and i quote "i will laugh if one day you get raped" and yes there is more to the story, but can there really be any excuse for an adult/teacher saying that to a child/student ? i dont think so. Another more serious incident had happened to me, but i will keep that confidential because its too personal for me to share. This teacher was proven guilty of lying though (with witnesses). There is a teacher who was sleeping with a student, yet she was allowed to stay employed working at PHA. (the teacher denies it, but there are NUMEROUS witnesses that can confirm this) and might i add there are OTHER teachers who can confirm this, but they keeping it a secret for the teacher as they are all friends. i dont need to say this, but this is ILLEGAL. A few students have *personally* told me that they feel PHA pressues sexuality on learners to be LGBTQ+. supporting is one thing, but pressurizing LEARNERS/CHILDREN to be a certain sexuality? ALL this information can be confirmed by witnesses, yet no one wants to speak up publicly? This school is not even 10 years old... I cant express this enough PHA is not a school. You might be thinking "if you hate the school so much, just leave then". Good question. i should have left the day i came here.

My experience at PHA has been incredible. The staff are willing to go the extra mile for their learners to prepare them for the next phase of life- tertiary education. They are an academic focused school, so I must admit the work is a bit more difficult than any other ordinary school. However, this does pay off. I would recommend any prospective learner to join the PHA family where everyone has a place to fit your academic needs. They will equip you for tertiary education and most certainly to become the independent adult you want to be!

Not worth it...... Trust me been there.

I really love this school as well as the teachers. Nobody gets left out and together we are stronger. Everybody finds their real friends there. Great facilities as well as a very modern building design.