The second term of the school year is underway and 2022’s matrics are gearing up for their first set of Grade 12 exams in June.
It’s an early Saturday morning and a bus is leaving from the neatly arranged classrooms of Nomzamo High School in Somerset West. The 24 learners inside are wearing their uniforms and carrying school bags, as they do every Saturday. They are on their way to Saturday School at Somerset College, determined to reach their goals in the upcoming exams.
“Over the years we’ve engaged in many endeavours to improve our matric results,” says Chris Mgubanto, Head of Nomzamo High. “Last year, a partnership came about between us and Somerset College, where some of the educators would come to the school and tutor our learners on Saturdays.”
The learners’ commitment to their Saturday classes had a great impact, says Mxoleli Mguzulwa, maths and physics teacher at Nomzamo High. “Most came to Grade 12 with low marks in maths. You’d be amazed, but after marking their exam scripts, I saw great improvement.”
An acute need
There is an acute need in South Africa for quality maths and science instruction particularly in under-resourced schools. Inspired by the success of the curriculum recovery work that their teachers had done in 2021, Somerset College decided to formalise and expand the programme. As part of the school’s 25-year celebrations, the Saturday School was launched on 22 January 2022.
“This initiative is a way we can live out the values we espouse: dignity, aspiration, creativity and contribution,” notes Graham Sayer, Executive Head of Somerset College. “You can’t sit on the side-lines when you have values like that; they impel you to get involved and do what you can to support where it’s needed.”
And so, every Saturday the buses arrive and the 24 matric students from Nomzamo disembark at the ESTEAM Centre for sessions in Mathematics, Science and English facilitated by Somerset College’s experienced and dedicated staff.
Lessons start at 08:45 and finish at 13:00 with a 15-minute breakfast break in the morning. The students go for lunch at 13:00 before returning home at around 14:00. The programme will continue until they have completed their final exams in Maths and Science.
Somerset College is also involved in supporting the teachers at Nomzamo High School who can elect to join the programme to hone their skills and discover new technologies, methodologies and curriculum enrichment.Initiatives in the pipeline include increasing Nomzamo High’s internet line speed and improving security. This will make it possible to maximise the potential of technology and online teaching.
Looking to the future
The intention is to improve matric examination outcomes, especially in Maths and Science, for local schools that are experiencing challenges. Somerset College aims to increase the number of subjects offered and to add a grade to their Saturday School every year until they are serving 1000 Grade 8 to 12 students every weekend.
“This is Somerset College’s 25th anniversary. It is an opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments with sincere gratitude for the unstinting generosity and endeavour that our alumni, parents, staff and students have contributed over a quarter of a century, and to be encouraged about how much more might be possible in the next 25. The Saturday School is very much part of that future,” Sayers notes.
Saturday school would not be possible without sponsorship from Life Healthcare, The Answer Series and Evergreen Office National, thanks to these organisations- all resources needed by the students have been provided.
“Our Saturday School will deliver improved chances for these learners to access tertiary opportunities, and with that in mind, we are very proud to announce that three bursaries are on offer from one of our donors,” concludes Sayer.
