WCED Supports Learners Ahead of National Senior Certificate Exams

On Wednesday, 25 September I visited Alexander Sinton High School. The school is acting as a "Spring School" venue for Grade 12 learners across the Metro Central District in preparation for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.

 

The Alexander Sinton venue is just one of 131 "Spring School" venues across the province benefitting thousands of learners from hundreds of schools.

 

The Western Cape Government would like to ensure that as many of the candidates writing the 2013 NSC pass their exams, and have therefore arranged for additional tutoring and lessons at these schools in order to help improve individual school and learner results.

 

Many of the programmes on offer will be taught by tutors selected by the WCED.

 

In some schools, curriculum advisors will be supporting and assisting individual school programmes.

 

The WCED has also arranged for additional resource materials to be developed to complement the lessons being presented.

 

The learners attending the Alexander Sinton "Spring School" include over 350 learners from 20 schools across the Metro Central District.

 

The majority of these learners have been identified as ‘needing support’ in certain subjects by their principals and Subject Advisors.

 

The “Spring School” will provide these learners with additional support and tutoring in 12 subjects. These subjects include Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy, English Home Language, Afrikaans Home Language and First Additional Language, Business Studies, Economics, Accounting, Geography, History, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences.

 

In addition, learners from three schools in Manenberg have also registered to attend the Alexander Sinton venue. These schools – Manenberg High, Silverstream High and Phoenix High School – were all affected by prolonged gang violence in the area which impinged on, and disrupted, teaching and learning time.

 

The WCED has therefore arranged for learners from these schools to be transported to the Alexander Sinton venue during the course of this week in order to receive additional tuition.

 

The WCED have, over the last few weeks, implemented a number of additional support measures for learners in Manenberg, particularly for the Grade 12 learners. The WCED have given learners additional exemplar papers, deployed subject advisors to assist in addressing any backlogs in various subject areas, arranged for additional tuition after school hours and have delivered telematics DVDs and materials to support teaching and learning.

 

Actual turnout each day at the “Spring School” will depend upon the subjects covered and the learners registered for that specific subject. This morning, attendance was high and I was very pleased with how the “Spring School” was being managed and administered. The subjects being covered this morning were Life Sciences and Economics.

 

The WCED is paying 40 educators from across the Metro who have been identified as “lead teachers” in their subjects to provide tuition to these learners at Alexander Sinton.

 

With only 32 days to go before the 2013 NSC, these learners need to ensure that they use every available opportunity to catch up on work missed and to improve on their September results. Further support will be provided to these Manenberg schools in the days running up to the NSC.

 

I would like to remind all our candidates in the Western Cape to remain focused and to make use of the available resources that have been provided to them by the Department.

 

They are encouraged to make use of the exemplar exam papers that have been given to them, and to download additional papers off the WCED matric support website.

 

“Practice makes perfect” – and the use of these exemplar papers could contribute to a better pass result.

 

They can also access lessons in Mathematics, Physical Science and Geography off this site via YouTube.

 

I would like to wish all schools and every candidate every success as you enter the final straight before the start of the NSC examinations.