In fact, it’s a normal public school called Jules High School, located in the fairly run-down suburb of Jeppestown, east of Johannesburg. But these unusual facilities do make it a school with a difference: among the subjects offered here are hotel-keeping and catering, and tourism and travel.
One of the educators responsible for teaching catering, Tertius Gerber, recalls the days when his department had no less than 12 teachers and was able to run the kind of outfit that included opening their school’s restaurant to the public some evenings. But, says Gerber, the catering educators are now down to two, and a lean budget has them under pressure to get far more out of far less.
Easy and cheap to teach are hotel-keeping skills like budget control, handling the front office and catering skills like laying tables, as well as the ins and outs of being a waiter or a wine-steward.
But when it comes to buying the ingredients to give students exposure to the business of making food, the budget sets the limits. ‘We can’t spend two weeks just learning how to make cocktails”, says Gerber. ‘We have to keep things quite basic – there’s no chance of teaching how to put together a spit-braai.”
The learners had an opportunity to try their hands at putting together a fancy function when Minister of Education Kader Asmal and other dignitaries visited Jules High in February. With the platters of tasty food served up by these gracious youngsters, it was clear that the lessons in hospitality had been well learnt.
These kinds of subjects are often perceived as soft options when compared to other more rigorously academic subjects. Says Gerber, ‘At this school, students have the idea that if they do catering they’re just going to eat and have a fun time. But they soon realise there’s hard work – like washing up.”
There’s also some serious bookwork to get through, including theories of food technology and the science of nutrition.
But one thing is certain: out in the big bad world, these students with marketable skills have something of an advantage over others of their generation who will be joining them in a competitive job market.
Watch Education Express on SABC2 on April 30 at 5pm for more on Jules High and other schools offering technical subjects