Letlhakane Celebrates 30th Anniversary

PATRICIA MAGANU
Staff Writer | Monday August 17, 2009 00:00

A teacher and a member of the celebrations organising committee, Alphonse Lechani said that LSS opened its doors to the first batch of learners in January 1979. The school started with 160 students. Lechani said that at the time, the school only offered tuition to junior secondary level. But eight years later, it became a fully- fledged senior secondary school.

The school adapted the name Letlhakane - the village where it is located. The village is 18km from Orapa.

'The school owes its name to the discovery of the diamond mining activities in the area. The name means 'coming together of the people' and refers to the fact that many people came from different parts of the country to work in the mines,' Lechani stated.
She told Monitor that currently the school has 100 teachers and 60 non-teaching staff.

Though LSS has not been among the top performing schools, the teacher is quick to point out that it has always maintained a respectable position. Lechani said the school has produced prominent people in Botswana like Thally Tshekiso, the executive director of Caratex Botswana and lead member of the critically acclaimed group Culture Spears Kabelo Mogwe. The anniversary celebrations committee is said to have  embarked on a number of fund raising activities since the beginning of the year.

'Committees and willing individuals in areas such as Orapa, Francistown, and Gaborone are working tirelessly to raise funds for the day,' she said. The organisers estimate that P50,000 will be heeded to host the event.