The last thing we expected to hear was “It all started with a knock on my door on a dark and stormy night in 2018”. Standing on his doorstep were Theo Krynauw and William Ntebe, there to share their vision of the young people of the Overstrand being offered the opportunity to study at tertiary level while living at home. This passion-filled conversation led to more extensive discussions on how to establish a university in Hermanus, a process that included newspaper articles calling for comment from the public and public and private meetings with interested persons. 

Meeting John for coffee was fitting as he described the discussions and developments that have taken place in coffee shops from Onrus to Stanford over the four-year period that has seen The Hub evolve from its original identity as Hermanus Varsity Trust (HVT) to its new format as The Overstrand Learning Hub.

The original idea was to establish a varsity in Hermanus and in a public participation process, the new institution was named Hermanus Varsity Trust. John acknowledges that the start-up was “madness” as they had a vision, but no physical or financial resources to speak of. However, what they did have in abundance was a pool of academics and educators who also believed that there was a need for people in the Overstrand to have access to tertiary education within travelling distance of their homes and who were prepared to either develop the necessary support structures or to offer their services as tutors. 

While it was agreed that there was a real need for would-be students to be able to study close to home, what really became clear was that the courses had to come from accredited institutions and that the role of HVT would be to provide academic support through the tutor system. Just a short year later, 2019 saw the first students enrolling for a Certificate in Local Economic Development through the University of Johannesburg and the second batch for an introductory course in Criminal Conservation Law Enforcement through Nelson Mandela University. 

In 2021, a number of changes occurred. The Department of Higher Education made it known that they were not happy with the name Hermanus Varsity Trust and this led to the renaming of the student-support programme to Overstrand Learning Hub (OLH). In addition to this, a decision was taken to focus on education, and more specifically on training teachers for Pre-School and Foundation Phase teaching.

A relationship was formed with STADIO School of Education through which students can study for a one-year Higher Certificate in Pre-School Education (Birth – Grade R) or a four-year Bachelor of Education Foundation Phase Teaching (Grade R-Grade 3). Members of the Overstrand community continue to make up the tutor system that has been the foundation of what has been offered by the HUB in both its incarnations.

On being asked whether the evolution from HVT to OLH had resulted in significant change, John said it had resulted in appropriate change. The original vision of partnering with established universities to study courses that could be accredited once a student migrated to such universities proved not to be appropriate for then or now. He believes that the name change is indicative of the shift in focus from self-fulfilment to enabling students once qualified to invest in their communities and make an impact in the Overstrand. By becoming educators and agents of change within their communities, self-fulfilment should follow. 

As the coffee cups were collected, there was time for just one more question – we asked John how he would describe his role in HVT/OLH? John laughed and said his role has been to look intelligent and wise. Nici however made a more accurate assessment: “For me, John, you are that constant - and everything that goes with that - you are the inspiration that goes with that.”

Motivated by his belief that “if you want a work force, the best thing is to have an educated workforce”, John de Gruchy continues to walk the road with the OLH with a view to it making a positive impact on the communities of Hermanus and the Overstrand and we are all the richer for his involvement.

Excerpt from Just a Glimpse by Theo Krynauw:

“A wonderful thing that happened as a direct outflow from Sparklekids was the start of the Hermanus Varsity. It was during the times of the worst unrest when four of us, Angie, William, Fike and I went to see our old friend Prof John de Gruchy at his home in Volmoed.

It took no time for John to get fired up about a tertiary institution here in Hermanus so that our young people could have the opportunity to study locally and make everything much more affordable.
John jumped into the deepest end and now, two and a half years later, Overstrand Learning Hub is in full swing.”