A “record number” of twins at one of the oldest township schools in New Brighton is giving joy to learners, staff and the community alike.
Dubbed the “Lucky seven twins”, the school staff believe the twins have brought luck and good fortune to the school.
“Having seven sets of twins, including identical pairs, has been a unique experience that we often boast about,” said Ntombentsha Fulela, an educator at Molefe Primary School. “The school has come a long way. With the devastating effects that COVID had on township schools – falling victim to break-ins and vandalism – we were fortunate enough to be able to rebuild, with the help of Good Samaritans and big business. “We knocked on many doors, and all of them answered. It is for this reason that we want to believe in the ‘Lucky Seven Twins’.”
Recalling the vandalism and stripping away of the school piece by piece, Fulela said at the time the school caretaker would find beds, mattresses, Primus stoves and blankets in classrooms.
“Homeless people were using the school for shelter. Our school had a library, a fully equipped kitchen and showers for the learners to refresh after sport, but now it’s a sorry sight to look at as vandals stripped the entire school of electricity. Only the admin block had electricity.”
The school library is only recognisable by the books on the shelves, whilst the school showers are “practically non-existent”. “The kitchen is so badly damaged that one can barely make out what it once was,” Fulele added.
Molefe Primary, which was established in 1941, caters for 270 learners from Grade R to 7; however, the school’s luck turned around.
“We were fortunate enough to be sponsored by PPC Cement. When they heard about our situation, they built a fence around the entire school and installed electricity for the whole school, so we have been safe ever since.”
With the help of sponsors, each classroom was secured with a locked door and burglar bars.
“Our admin block is painted brightly, all thanks to Plascon, and the Department of Education recently (2024) granted us a relief grant to repair the damages that we experienced when some of our classrooms were badly affected by heavy rains.”
Fulela shared the staff and learners’ enthusiasm about having this twin “phenomenon” at their school. “Having more than one, even two sets, is not something new to our school, but this year the number escalated very quickly,” she said excitedly. “Even our security guard is a twin! How crazy is that? The school has never had so many sets of twins before. At most, we had three sets, but this year we set a personal record.”
The twins comprise two identical sets (one set of boys and one set of girls), one non-identical set, and four boy-girl fraternal twins.
“In Grade 1, we have two boy-girl sets; Grade 2 has one identical girl set; Grades 4, 6 and 7 have two boy-girl sets and two boy sets. In total, we have eight boys and six girls,” Fulela shared. “I must also mention that in Grade 5, there is another twin I did not mention because their twin passed on as an infant.”
Two pairs share a class: the identical girls, Sphelele and Sphesihle, are in the same Grade 2 class, whilst the twin brother and sister are in the same Grade 7 class. The rest are in separate classrooms.
“We all have our unique ways of differentiating the twins,” Fulela shared. “The real conundrum is telling apart the Mtotywa boys. Teachers and pupils alike always end up scratching their heads.”
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