History

Bereton Montessori opened on the 10th of September, 1978 as a pioneer private nursery school in Rivers State with 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 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 amongst various pre-primary and primary schools in Rivers State. It is not an accident of history; it is the realization of a dream.

Chief (Mrs.) Victoria Diete-Spiff, our Founder and Managing Director, has a natural inclination to care for children. “It is the love of children that brought me into this vocation” She explains. Liberal, dynamic and mother to all, she always dreamed of a formal structure where her ideas for the proper foundation of child education would be laid. Her 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 impressed it upon Chief (Mrs.) Victoria Diete-Spiff to take the Bereton standard further by opening a primary school. She added the primary school section in January 1983. Since then, the primary school has become the reference point for quality education in Rivers State. It has excelled in preparing children for common entrance examination to private, State and Federal Government Secondary Schools, where their performance has been very impressive.

Understandably, Bereton was among the first set of private schools to be fully approved by the Rivers State Government in March 1988. Decades later, Bereton remains strong and thriving in excellence. From humble beginnings in 1978, with 120 pupils and eight classrooms at 8 Ernest Street, Old GRA, Bereton has grown into two locations- Old GRA and Stadium Road with state-of-the-art buildings and modern facilities, ICT enabled teaching and learning environments and motivated professional teachers. Our secondary school- Charles Dale Memorial International School (www.charlesdaleschool.com) was also founded in 2006.

Bereton has over the years raised successful individuals who are excelling in their various works of life and we are extremely proud of them!

We are innovative and continually improve our practice to achieve current world class educational standards. This is evident in our facilities and our professional practice. Diligence and Excellence are our watchwords. In everything we do, we strive to achieve excellence and we instill same in our pupils. Our pupils are encouraged to ‘Aim for the Stars’. Our members of staff are well trained and they deliver their duties in a diligent and excellent manner.

In terms of teaching and learning teachers are continually trained to make sure they are up to date with current teaching and learning methodologies. The facilities for teaching and learning are constantly being upgraded to meet up modern teaching and learning trends. The use of technology is gradually being introduced in the classrooms. In addition to Rote learning, critical thinking is being introduced to build up better individuals who can apply his or herself in future.

Socially, our pupils are exposed from early years to the world around them. They are taught to socialize and as they get into the primary years they are involved in structured extracurricular activities.

Ultimately, results matter and at Bereton our pupils consistently achieve excellent results in competitions and examinations in all areas of the curriculum, giving them a gateway to top secondary schools in Nigeria and abroad.

We remain committed to training the Total Child into our Future Leaders!