Author: Rod Amner

By Rod Amner  Excited Archie Mbolekwa’s Grade Rs donned academic regalia at a moving ceremony to mark their ‘graduation’ to Grade 1 at the school recently. However, the school’s seven water tanks ran dry this week, disrupting school meals and closing down the ablution blocks, forcing teachers to close early classes at noon every day this week. One water tank was filled by Gift of the Givers last week, helping to keep the school afloat for a few days. But that, too, has dried up. The school has seven water tanks, but deliveries from Makana water tankers have stopped, and…

By ROD AMNER At the start of the 2023 school year, Khutliso Daniels Secondary School’s dynamic principal, Radio Mcuba, made a pact with his 88 matrics. He bought them a giant cake which was divided into 88 slices. He told each learner they constituted 1.18 per cent of the matric cohort. If they ate the cake, “terms and conditions apply”. “I am investing in you,” Mcube said. “I asked them, ‘How does the cake taste?’.” “‘It tastes so nice,’ they said. I said, ‘OK, you can only finish the cake if you give me back that 1.18 per cent’.” “I…

By ROD AMNER Do you have a spare used broom or a spade? Or a pick-axe – or even just a pick handle? Or plastic bags or a chair that could be mended? If you no longer need these things, you might consider donating them to the 1650 Social Employment Fund (SEF) workers, who are desperate for the tool and materials required to help ‘fix’ the city, said the project manager of the National Arts Festival’s SEF project, Hilton Haakonsen. “Many people have a spade or a shovel or a broom that isn’t quite good enough for their purposes. Trust…

There was much excitement around the Kingswood College pool this past weekend as the Makhandans hosted the 12th annual Brian Baker 1st team girls’ tournament.This year saw the number of teams participating increase from 16 to 20, with many of the top schoolgirls’ sides from around the country visiting Makhanda.On Thursday, the Kingswood girls had a great start beating Alex Road and Crawford Lonehill 10-9 in a nail-biting game. Kingswood and Crawford Lonehill battle for possession during their match in the Brian Baker water polo tournament on the weekend. Photo: Jackie Clausen Kingswood College head girl Amy Hopson in action…

By MASIMBULELE BUSO and JONATHAN CAMPBELL Gender-based violence (GBV) refers to any harm or violence perpetrated against a person because of their gender. This violence occurs against a person’s will, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether in public or private. This violence negatively impacts the person’s physical and psychological health. GBV has its roots in gendered power inequities and culture and norms that exploit distinctions between males and females. An imbalance of power exists between males and females, which tends to favour males. This, in turn, creates opportunities for violence against women to occur.…

By ROD AMNER, Grocott’s Mail co-editor Schools are back in session, and 2023 is warming up. Well, in truth, it’s getting a tad overheated. Learners in schools like George Jacques (Alicedale) and Grahamstown Primary swelter in prefabricated classrooms. DD Siwisa learners cannot open their windows – they were welded shut after vandals invaded their classrooms over the holidays. Despite the discomfort and threat of vandalism, local schools can feel proud they are part of the best-performing educational district in the Eastern Cape. The city’s three private schools have produced some ostentatiously impressive results. The public sector’s biggest-ever cohort of matrics…

By YANDISWA VARA, Makana Local Municipality Executive Mayor Congratulations to the Class of 2022 for their outstanding results. We are very proud of what they have achieved, and we wish them well in the future. I’m sure the past few weeks of anticipating the results have been tough on all of you. As we celebrate those who have done well, it is essential to consider those who have not passed matric. I would like to encourage all learners who have not achieved their goals not to give up. Failing matric is not the end of the road; there are many…

By DR ASHLEY WESTAWAY, GADRA Education manager The Makhanda Matric class of 2022 has delivered a generally very pleasing set of results in the NSC examinations. The news is not all good, but it’s mostly good. In this analysis of the public school results, I cover several essential performance indicators, including cohort size, retention rate, pass rate, number of Bachelor passes and the Bachelor pass rate. At the onset, it should be noted that considering both percentages and numbers, as well as quantity and quality, is necessary to arrive at a balanced, comprehensive analysis. Too often in this country, there…

By STAFF REPORTER Victoria Girls High School produced another sizzling set of results for the 2022 National Senior Certificate. Here are some stats overall: *  100% pass rate (77 candidates)*  92% bachelor’s pass rate (71 of the 77 candidates)*  91% of symbols above 50%*  42% of all subject symbols are A or B.*  32% with 70% aggregate and above*  72 Subject A’s (13%)*  The following subjects had more than 10% of their learners get As:   • Afrikaans (11%)   • Maths Lit (11%)   • Life Orientation (44%)   • Accounting (32%)   • Visual Art (42%)   • Design (50%) VG communications head Sibu…

By ROD AMNER Makhanda’s nine public schools have produced 305 bachelor matric passes, just shy of the record 313 bachelor pass recorded in 2021. This matric cohort – who spent much of their crucial Grade 10 and 11 years in lockdown – is still far ahead of the previous high of 238 bachelor passes set in 2018. And, with an overall pass rate of 84.6% – up from 83% last year – they consolidated Makhanda’s position as the top-performing education centre in the Eastern Cape. A bachelor’s pass makes a candidate eligible for a degree at a university, university of…