THANDI SKADE
THEIR goal is simple – to obtain a 100 percent pass rate.
And Dipuo Shole is convinced that matric pupils at her school, Forte High in Dobsonville, will rise to the occasion thanks to Project 100.
Project 100 is run by One School at a Time, a non-profit organisation that has focused its efforts on Forte High.
The project is aimed at achieving a 100 percent pass rate at the school through the provision of extra lessons on a Saturday, and winter schools during school holidays to make sure that no child gets left behind.
“Before, teachers weren’t excited about teaching on a Saturday, but now that they are getting compensated, they are, so we are getting so much more out of them,” Dipuo said.
Keneilwe Ranakaba, 17, said her fellow Grade 12 pupils should find it easy to excel thanks to the extra help they are receiving.
“If we’re struggling with a subject, we can get one-on-one lessons with the teacher, so it’s easier for us to get distinctions because our teachers are dedicated,” she said.
Former advertising executive Klasie Wessels traded in his formal suits for thermal underwear and snow gear and managed to raise R533 350 towards Project 100.
He climbed 6 000m of the 6 962m-high Aconcagua in Argentina – the highest mountain in South America – before a snowstorm forced his team back down the mountain before they had reached the summit.
“It was very disappointing to have got that far and not being able to finish, but the support I received for this project was phenomenal,” Wessels said.
Forte High principal Leonard Mudavhi said the pass rate was already showing signs of improvement and had increased from 52 percent in 2009 to 66 percent last year.