In the face of a myriad challenges brought on by Covid-19, Somerset West Private School (SWPS) reported excellent 2020 matric results and garnered local and national awards
Established 23 years ago, the school gained recognition from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and the national quality education group Skoleondersteuningsentrum (SOS) recently.
SWPS was in the top two schools of the province with National Senior Certificate (NSC) enrolment of less than 30 candidates, earning it the accolade of WCED Award for Excellence in Academic Performance.
Moreover, in a national contest of private schools, SOS awarded the school fifth place in the category for small schools with the most distinctions nationwide, with 19 candidates, 29 distinctions, and an average of 1,53 distinctions per candidate.
Principal Morné Coetzer is exceptionally proud of all the learners and staff for these much-deserved honours, especially given the challenges of Covid-19. “Last year was a very tough year, and we are incredibly proud of our efforts during the lockdown. As a school we continued with online schooling, and all our grades wrote a complete online May/June examination,” he said.
“This contributed to our excellent results, as our matrics had a practice run before the September examinations. We were able to complete the entire syllabus by the end of August, which allowed us a lot more time to revise. Our matrics worked diligently throughout the year and put in a lot of effort, and are so deserving of this applause and recognition.
“For us, the awards verify what we work towards daily – providing a truly high quality of education to our learners. We want to open doors of opportunity for our learners by providing the best education of the best quality possible.”
He said it’s important for all at SWPS to know their high standards are being maintained. “We know our educational standard is tops, and we work hard at keeping it like that,” Coetzer pointed out.
“But to receive confirmation of this through provincial and national honours is very important to us. Comparatively, we are a small school and are pleased we can compete on all levels, even when conditions are less than ideal.
“Notably, our fellow high schools in the Helderberg region also turned in excellent results in a memorably challenging year. We warmly congratulate these top performing schools’ teachers and learners in our area – we are delighted and proud that many of our Somerset West-based schools continue to be so highly regarded.”
What is the secret of the school’s ongoing success? Its philosophy of engendering a culture of hard work to reach goals in life is central to its successful formula, Coetzer related.
“What is important for us at the school is to show learners that through hard work and dedication they can reach their goals. We are all here to evolve and progress, and the pandemic has undoubtedly asked us to change the way we teach and think.
“The past year opened the doors to improving and enhancing education in new ways, by communal efforts and applying technologies and science, such as artificial intelligence in the future. Learners, parents, admin staff and teachers took hands and forged new paths in the last year.
“By constantly tackling difficulties in our lives, we can transcend blockages within ourselves, which enable us ultimately to awaken the higher self inside each one of us.”
The school is proud to play a vital role in strengthening maths and science learning, which are crucial areas for entry into further studies for Fourth Industrial Revolution roles.
In addition, it has a well-regarded post-matric programme, attracting learners looking to improve their matric marks or take new subjects they require to access further studies. One post matric learner had a remarkable year, upping her results in maths from 57% to 86%, and science from 65% to 80%.
She has gained entry to medical studies at Stellenbosch University.
Said Coetzer: “We are one of the few schools that offer post matric learners the opportunity to improve their results, and learners can even do maths and science from Grade 10 to 12 in one year. We want to encourage learners who want to improve their matric results to find out more about our post matric programme.”
V Visit www.swps.co.za for more details on the Somerset West Private School.
