Seventy learners will be given an opportunity to improve their matric results – a step which not only change their lives but also improve the city's matric results by over 10 percent.
Seventy learners will be given an opportunity to improve their matric results – a step which not only change their lives but also improve the city's matric results by over 10 percent.
Gadra Matric School is to pilot a ground-breaking opportunity for pupils who qualified for supplementary examinations to attend a four-week high-impact supplementary school next week. The blitz is designed to help failed matric candidates who qualify for supplementary examinations.
Education Manager at Gadra Dr Ashley Westaway said this idea came about last year in discussions with principals. Gadra noticed that once the minister announced the results and the schools received them, candidate's who did not make it but qualified for supplementary exams were left to fend for themselves.
"No one is really helping them. This idea came about when we saw that the matric school get more than 500 applications at the beginning of the year when there is space for only 150," Westaway said.
"We thought this idea would be a mechanism to help with that problem."
Gadra will accept 70 supplementary exam candidates and will provide them with transport and food. The programme will be free of charge.
Westaway believes the 70 candidates who qualify have the chance to improve the city of Grahamstown's results by around 12% and raise the total pass rate to 85%.
"If we can do that, we could overtake the Cradock district," Westaway said.
"We have started [enrolling]learners. They will attend for four weeks from 8-5pm," he said.
The supplementary school will offer the five subjects which were the most failed in 2013, according to Westaway: Life sciences, geography, maths literacy, economics and accountancy.
Westaway said this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for candidates to change their lives. "It is now or never," he said. "In these 20 days they will have an opportunity to change their results.
"This is meant to give them hope and it will require a big mind-shift and improved attitude." Westaway said they are working with Rhodes University in the supplementary school and have already sourced around R150 000 in funding through the university's community engagement office.
Registration opens on Friday 16 January at the Joza Youth Hub, Grahamstown.
Westaway said Gadra wanted to emphasise that qualifying for supplementary exams means a chance to improve one's results. Gadra's Ziyanda Ntlokwana is the coordinator of the supplementary school.
Westaway said any candidate – not only Grahamstown residents – who qualified for supplementary examinations would be accepted in the school. "But there are only 70 spaces available," he emphasised.
