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Bereton Montessori
opened on the 10th September 1978 as a pioneer private
nursery school in Rivers State with about 120 children in eight
classrooms. The Rivers State Government, after the civil war, had
approved the establishment of pre-primary (nursery) schools by private
entrepreneurs. The Government established a Nursery Schools Authority
and went further to start the Seabed Nursery School in Port Harcourt.
Pilot nursery schools were also established in various divisions of
Rivers State. In 1978,the Government closed down its nursery schools
and invited private proprietors to establish playgroups, pre-nursery and
primary schools. Approval in principle was given to such schools already
in existence while proper guidelines were awaited.
Bereton is unique
among various pre-primary and primary schools in Rivers State. It is nit
an accident of history, or of local patriotism, but the realisation of a
dream.
Chief (Mrs) Victoria Diete-Spiff, Proprietor, says Bereton is a product
of love, not investment. She has a natural inclination to care for
children. "It is love of children that brought me into this vocation,''
She explains. Liberal, dynamic and mother to all, she always dream of a
formal structure where her ideas for the proper foundation of child
education would be laid. Her natural sincerity love and passion for
quality, courage and integrity made the relationship between discerning
parents and Bereton love at first sight. The school was an instant
success.
Before long parents pressurised Chief (Mrs) Diete-Spiff to take
Bereton standard further by opening a primary school. A good listener and
humanist, she yielded to this popular request by adding the primary
school section in January 1983. Since then the primary school has come to
be the reference point for quality education in Rivers State, and
comparable to similar schools elsewhere in Nigeria and Overseas. The
primary school has excelled in preparing children for common entrance
examinations to private, federal and state government secondary schools;
their performance has been vastly impressive.
Understandably,
Bereton was among the first to set off private schools
to be fully approved by the Rivers State Government in March 1988.
On September 10, that year, Bereton, deservedly, rolled out the red carpet to
celebrate its ten years anniversary. Today,25years on,
Bereton
Montessori glows with success. From a humble beginning in 1978,with
120 pupils, Bereton has grown to a population of over 2000 pupils and
more than 200 teachers, from the eight classrooms in 1978,it now spans
two campuses with state-of-the-art buildings and facilities, instructional and
teaching aids coupled with quality, fully motivated professional teachers.
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