Picture: Tigerkloof Combined School
By REGINALD KANYANE
10 October 2026 – The Tiger Kloof Educational Institution (historically the Tierkloof Missionary Station), located just outside Vryburg in North West, has immense potential as a niche tourism destination. The school functions primarily as a living, breathing historic school, its approach to tourism relies on structured cultural, historical, and adventure-based excursions.
Tiger Kloof was established in 1904 by the London Missionary Society (LMS) and later declared a black spot and forcibly shut down under the Apartheid regime’s Group Areas Act before its triumphant reopening in 1995. The property is highly regarded for its hand-dressed dolomite stone architecture.
Tourists can visit the iconic Arthington Memorial Church—completed in 1933 and described as a “symphony in stone” —and the historic cemetery. The institution holds monumental regional history.
It served as the academic home for Botswana’s founding elite. Tourists can explore buildings named after iconic alumni, including Botswana’s first president, Sir Seretse Khama, Sir Ketumile Masire and Dr Gaositwe Chiepe. Tiger Kloof does not market itself as a conventional resort, but rather as an active community hub that thrives on internationalism.
As a member of the global Round Square network, Tiger Kloof frequently hosts international school groups (from countries like the UK, US, and Ireland). Visitors often couple their stays with volunteer programs, participating in local pre-school support, local soup kitchens, and centers for disabled youth.
The institution spans 1200 hectares of farmland, which opens up opportunities for outdoor recreation. The school runs a specialised adventure program designed for team building and leadership development.
Visitors can utilise the grounds for bush paintball, raft building, and inflatable boat water activities. The expansive grounds offer three dedicated hiking trails (ranging from 3km to 7km) and three mountain biking loops totaling 25km of bush trails.
Guests can experience the school’s unique self-sustaining model, touring its active cattle herd, chicken farms, and organic vegetable gardens. Rather than a standalone stop, Tiger Kloof serves as an excellent anchor point for a broader regional tour through the Bophirima district.
It is frequently paired with nearby big-game destinations like the Bona Bona Game Reserve.
Travelers often group a historical tour of Tiger Kloof with a trip down the Harts River to visit the internationally recognised Taung Skull Heritage Site, located roughly 140km away.
Tiger Kloof had its origins in the Moffat Institute at Kuruman, part of the educational endeavours of the London Missionary Society in that part of South Africa. When the Moffat Institute closed it was reincarnated, in 1905.
Tiger Kloof was a high school, teachers’ training college, Bible college and trade school all rolled into one. Clergyman W.C. Willoughby led the efforts to build a school together with the Batswana chiefs in the area.
Economic developments and the construction of a railroad from Victoria Falls to Kimberley led the London Missionary Society to open the school. Arthington Memorial Church was built from 1925 to 1933.
The introduction of Bantu Education Act and the Group Areas Act under Apartheid during the 1950s, however, sounded the death knell for the London Missionary Society’s educational efforts here and in the Northern Cape. The London Missionary Society left the school in 1956, in protest against the Bantu Education Act, which they found to be discriminatory against black South Africans.
Tiger Kloof continued to function as a public school, but some buildings burned and the school was eventually closed in 1963. Tiger Kloof was closed down, but not before its pupils had risen in protest at the new legislation.
In the late 1980s provincial heritage site status was given to the empty shell of the abandoned Tiger Kloof Institute. In 1991 a meeting of Old Tigers was initiated by Joe Wing, a missionary. They formed a board of directors and started working toward reopening Tiger Kloof.
They celebrated its re-opening in October 1995. The remainder of Tiger Kloof’s original property was returned through the land restitution process in 2004.
Another phase of development began; they opened a primary school. The Kgosi of the Bangwaketse, Bathoen II also studied here. Nakatindi Yeta Nganga, one of the first female MPs in Zambia, also attended the school.
Recently, the school has appointed Onkabetse Mohitlhi as its new principal.
