Hanover Park teacher reaches top 50 in the world

HANOVER Park juffrou Charnelle Arendse is proof that where you come from is not where you are destined after being nominated as a finalist in the Top 50 Global Teacher Prize 2026 in Dubai.

The onnie is a Grade 7 teacher at Belmor Primary School situated in the heart of Hanover Park, a Departmental Head in the Intermediate Phase and currently the acting Deputy Principal. 

She was among 49 other teachers from around the world who were honoured for this top honour. 

The Global Teacher Prize is an internationally renowned award that honours exceptional educators who have made a profound impact on their learners and communities.

Daily Voice caught up with Charnelle fresh from her Dubai trip who said that her passion for teaching started 15 years ago with the aim to make a difference.

Coming from the notorious streets of Hanover Park, Arendse is following her mother’s footsteps after seeing the transformative power of education. 

She sais: “My mom was a teacher in Hanover Park for forty years and for as long as I can remember, her former learners would stop her and thank her for her advice, guidance and pastoral care toward them. 

“I’ve witnessed the transformative power of education and that is why I chose to enter the profession.”

See her own learners now struggle with crime and poverty, Arendse added her achievement is a victory for the entire community and a call to rise above your circumstances. 

“From the heart of Hanover Park to a Top 50 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize: I feel absolutely overjoyed, deeply humbled and oh‑so blessed. 

“It is a personal victory, a community win and a platform to grow. 

“People always ask: Can something good come from Hanover Park? Amidst gang violence, poverty and a kaleidoscope of overwhelming social challenges, I want to say a resounding: Yes.”

She reminded laaities that school is the place to be if you want to grow up to be someone you can make a difference. 

Arendse added: “They don’t need to look for affirmation in the wrong places, because in our class we love loudly while learning… being in school is the place to be.”