Their remarkable success stories have earned two Kraaifontein high schools the highest accolades in the Western Cape at the National Senior Certificate awards held at the premier’s residence Leeuwenhof on Thursday.
In the face of violent crime, gangsterism and less favourable socio-economic circumstances these schools continued to thrive over the last three years.
With a 20% increase in their matric pass rate from 29% in 2020 to 64% in 2021 and finally to 84% last year, Scottsville High School was awarded first place for the most improved school in the Western Cape.
The criteria also include consistency in the number of Grade 12 candidates over the 3-year period from 2020 to 2022.
Proud principal Henry Hockey says their success story is based on a team effort between, learners, teachers, parents and local NGO’s.
“We take learners that are not wanted by other high schools due to low academic scores and make something of them. We give them an equal teaching platform to learn and improve. We show them that we care about them no matter what their background or circumstances are,” says Hockey.
He says over the past 40 years the school has produced young people who have gone out to make a mark in the country.
“It is not just about the pass rate but also about the quality of the learning. We focus on subjects that will give these young people an opportunity to obtain Bachelors passes for tertiary education,” he says.
Schools excel
Hector Peterson Secondary School in Wallacedene came fourth in the province of schools with the greatest increase in the percentage of Bachelor’s passes over the period from 2020 to 2022.
The criteria also include consistency in number of Grade 12 candidates over the same three-year period from 2020 to 2022.
Six years ago the school was one of the poorest performing schools in the province with a 20% matric pass rate. The class of 2022 obtained a 92,6% pass rate, a 14 percentage point increase from last year’s 78,4%.
Moreover, 55% of the school’s candidates (128 learners) achieved bachelor’s passes – up from 40,2% last year. And they did this all while increasing the number of candidates writing from 204 to 229.
Principal Mike Mavovana attributes this success to a good teaching staff and hard work. He said the candidates far exceeded the school’s target of 85%.
Provincial education minister David Maynier says the class of 2022 as a whole had had a tough time over the past few years.
“They missed so much class time during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“And in their matric year they had to cope with load shedding and transport disruption. But, at the same time, our candidates, teachers and districts put an incredible amount of effort into preparing for the matric exams.”
