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With 110 days to go to the start of the 2016 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, the next five months are the most important time in a learner’s school career.

It is therefore important that as a department, we do all that we can to assist our candidates with their preparation for the upcoming NSC examinations. In order to assist our learners, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has initiated a number of targeted and sustained interventions at schools across the province, including a Winter School and Winter Camps for Grade 12 learners.

Providing curriculum support to our Grade 12 learners is a priority for this Government, particularly in schools where learners are struggling in specific subjects.

The Grade 12 Winter Schools Programme aims to assist learners in high enrolment subjects. These subjects include Mathematics, Physical Science, Geography, Life Sciences, Accounting and Economics. Many of the programmes on offer will be taught by tutors selected by the WCED. The Winter School programme also includes Winter Camps. For example, there is a winter camp in Ceres that is hosting over 200 Grade 12 learners for the week.

In some schools, curriculum advisors will be supporting and assisting individual school programmes. Additional resource materials have been developed to complement the lessons being presented.

The dates of each school’s programme differ. Some schools have offered programmes on specific days, while others, throughout the holiday period.

I am extremely encouraged to see the commitment of so many learners to improve their results with a phenomenal number of learners attending Winter Schools across the Western Cape.

Today, I visited the Grade 12 Winter School Programme at Isilimela Secondary School in Langa where almost 1000 Grade 12 learners from 7 high schools in the area are attending an intensive revision programme ahead of the 2016 NSC examinations.

The schools taking part in the Winter School at Isilimela Secondary School are:

• Fezeka Secondary School
• ID Mkize Senior Secondary
• Ikamvalethu Secondary School
• Intshukumo Secondary School
• Isilimela Secondary School
• Kulani Secondary School
• Langa Secondary School

The school has been working hard to improve their pass rate after a remarkable increase in their NSC of 23.1% from 57.9% in 2014 to 81% in 2015. I spoke to the Principal, Mr Sijula who also assists with tutoring and mentoring of Grade 12 learners at the school, and he is determined to achieve between 85% and 90% pass rate in the 2016 NSC.

This year, 243 candidates will be writing the NSC from Isilimela Secondary School.

Mr Sijula says that his Grade 12 learners have worked hard and consistently from the start of the school year and they have used the learners March results to provide targeted support and intervention strategies to assist the learners where necessary.

For the Grade 12’s at Isilimela Secondary School, the school day is longer than normal with extra lessons taking place every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Mr Sijula says that creating healthy competition between the Grade 12 classes at the school has encouraged and motivated the learners to work harder. He is inspired by the learners’ commitment, as am I. I wish Mr Sijula and the Grade 12’s, the very best of luck in the upcoming NSC.

I would also like to wish all the Grade 12’s in our province the very best of luck with their studies over the holidays and for what is the most important examinations they will write in their school careers.

American Statesman Colin Powell said that “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

Nothing is ever achieved without hard work, and I have every confidence that you will make yourselves and the Western Cape proud.

Issued by Department of Education Western Cape