Matric pass rate improves for most Athlone schools

Most of the schools in the greater Athlone area managed to improve their matric results despite the pandemic, a taxi strike and load shedding.

Of the 26 high schools in the area, a total of 16 improved, nine schools’ matric pass rate dropped, and one school, Star College Bridgetown, maintained its 100% pass rate, compared to the previous year.

Among the schools celebrating their significant improvement, is Peak View High School, in Bridgetown, who is among the top performing schools in the area for 2022. In 2021, the school had a 78.2% pass rate, but last year’s matriculants brought it up to 89%. Just over 10 years ago, The Western Education Department (WCED) nearly closed the school for poor performance. This was all turned around however, when pass rates soared after Xhosa was introduced as a home language at the school. Before, pupils with Xhosa as a home language were forced to do English as a home language.

Principal Laetitia Philander ascribes their good results to the hard work and dedication of the matriculants, teachers and support systems from the WCED and non-profit organisations.

She added that she is proud to be part of a team who go beyond their call of duty.

“If a child is late for an examination because of public transport challenges, we will fetch him or her from wherever they are to get them here quicker. Many of our learners are from outside Bridgetown and our teachers would at times give learners taxi fare to ensure they can get to school and back home,” Ms Philander said.

Deputy principal, Msimelelo Gija, concurred, adding that they don’t give up on any of their pupils. Mr Gija said a most recent example was when Business Studies teacher, Quentin Bosser, searched for one of his pupils on social media when all other avenues failed. He happened to find Azah Soga, who dropped out in Grade 11, but who completed his matric now, thanks to the encouragement he received from his teachers.

“We are part of the department’s School-based Support Team (SBST). We helped to look for him and gave him taxi fare. If a school has a good support structure, has a good relationship with learners and parents, and create a conducive environment where a learner can approach a teacher for help, then that is a recipe for success,” Mr Gija said.

Azah achieved a distinction in English.

“I failed Grade 11 and I told myself I am not coming back to school. This was partly because I was lazy, but other circumstances contributed to it. My teachers searched for me and found me. Now I can hardly believe I completed matric, that I am in the top four for English and that I achieved a distinction for it,” Azah said.

Ms Philander said the staff of Peak View is of the opinion that they are all co-parents.

“Your child is my child, and we don’t only say this, we live it. The calibre of teachers we have here go way beyond their job description. We are super proud of our 2022 matric class. I know it was not easy for many of them, and I want to thank them for making us proud.”

Other schools in the area who improved on their matric pass rate, is Alexander Sinton, with a 90.8% pass, up from 83.5% the previous year. Arcadia High improved slightly, with a 76.7% pass, compared to 76.4% in 2021. Athlone High achieved a 68.4% pass, up from 58.9% the previous year. Bonteheuwel High had a 79% pass rate, up from 69.2%. Bridgetown also improved with its 78.6% pass, up from 72.2%. Crystal High achieved 77.1%, up from 65.4%. Garlandale achieved 83.3%, up from 78.9%. Groenvlei had a 83.4% pass rate, up from 78.1%. Islamia College achieved a 99.3% pass rate, up from 93.5%. Manenberg High jumped to 76%, up from 57.3% the previous year. Modderdam High also improved with its 69.2% pass, up from 52.7%. Phoenix High improved to 56.3%, compared to the previous year’s 50.4%. Premier College achieved a 80% pass, up from 77.3%. Spes Bona has a 71% pass rate, up from 59.4%. The Leadership College also improved slightly, from 87.3% in 2021, to 87.8% in 2022.

Belgravia High’s pass rate for 2022 is 75.9%, down from 83.6% the previous year. Cathkin High dropped to 85.5%, compared to the previous year’s 88.6%. Al-Azhar High School dropped to 95.5%, compared to the previous year’s 98.7%. Darul Islam Islamic High School had a pass rate of 72.5% for last year, while it was 86.8% in 2021. Eros School dropped to 47.1%, down from 60.6%. Heideveld High’s pass rate also dropped, from 73.4% in 2021 to 68.5% in 2022. Mount View High came down with one percent - from 79.2% in 2021 to 78.2% in 2022. Ned Doman High School came down to 79.6%, compared to the previous year’s 88%. Rylands High has a 94% pass rate for 2022, down from 100% the previous year.