Nathan iel Nyaluza Secondary School launched its first science club as part of National Science Week this week.
Nathan iel Nyaluza Secondary School launched its first science club as part of National Science Week this week.
The club is part of a multi-faceted programme to promote various aspects of science in high schools
throughout Grahamstown.
The school was one of many township schools in Grahamstown who recieved funding from the National Research Foundation, SAIAB, SAEON, SciFest Africa and the South african Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA).
One of the Grade 12 learners of Nyaluza, Siyabonga Bawuti, said the science club will help them understand chemistry and biology as the school doesn’t have the resources to learn these subjects on a practical level.
He said that it will also enhance their interest in these subjects. “I thought I was going to do social work but seeing all the equipment and not just reading about it in a book made me think twice about my career.
I am interested in doing chemical engineering now,” he said. Frans Snyders, the Grade 11 and 12 Physical Science teacher at nathaniel Nyaluza, said: “There is a lot of learners interested in science but there aren’t enough programmes that can help them enhance their interest.”
He also said that the science club would help them gain access to a variety of resources. A group of three learners from the school, which had the lowest matric pass rate last year, recently won a provincial high school science quiz in Port Elizabeth.
Vera Adams, director of Scifest Africa, said they launched the science clubs for the students to be aware of how science is contributing to the country’s economy.
“We want to expose learners to businesses and economics,” she said. They will take these high school learners to different businesses on Wednesday so that they can see how the businesses are run.
Penny Haworth, the communications manager of the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), said that they also introduced the Bright Sparks programme during the science club launch to expose the learners to the world of science and to encourage them to choose science as a career.
