The Western Cape Education’s #BackOnTrack programme was once again a success.
A total of 23 447 learners in Grade 7, 8, 10 and 12 attended the matric support classes over the holiday period in the Western Cape.
Parents will be familiar with the Department’s successful winter school classes for matric learners which take place every year. This year, 10 842 matric learners attended #BackOnTrack classes, which are targeted to the schools that need the extra support the most, and a further 7 109 matrics not part of the programme attending district-based classes.
That means that nearly 18 000 matrics have received extra academic support over the holiday period.
Western Cape Minister of Education David Maynier said what the #BackOnTrack does differently is to expand support to other key grades, so learners are already in a better academic position by the time they reach matric.
“This is the first time we have held holiday classes for Grades 7, 8 and 10,” said Maynier. “A total of 1 665 Grade 7 and 2 113 Grade 8 learners attending #BackOnTrack camps and classes over the holidays, which focused on Mathematics and Language, along with psychosocial well-being and life-skills sessions.
Grade 10 learners participated in a unique Mathematics intervention, with 1 734 Grade 10’s attending extra classes across the districts. “This intervention has been designed given the performance of last year’s Grade 9s in our annual systemic tests, which showed that they need extra support in Mathematics.”
Maynier visited some of these Grade 10s at the University of the Western Cape, which hosted classes for the Metro South Education District. “The learners I engaged with said they were finding these classes extremely helpful, and the tutors had given them a new perspective on the material covered. What struck me was how optimistic the learners were and the level of commitment they were showing to the programme.”
“Our teachers form part of this intensive mathematics intervention, too. I visited the 140 Grade 10 maths teachers who attended training at the Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI) by our maths experts during the holidays.”
Maynier thanked all the officials, schools, tutors and parents who made this holiday period a successful one for the learners and teachers participating in the #BackOnTrack programme.
“Their hard work will go a long way toward improving learning outcomes and giving our children a better future in the Western Cape.”
