{"id":224161,"date":"2022-05-11T02:55:54","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T00:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=115632"},"modified":"2022-05-11T02:55:54","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T00:55:54","slug":"nomzamo-matrics-aim-for-the-stars-with-the-help-of-somerset-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/nomzamo-matrics-aim-for-the-stars-with-the-help-of-somerset-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Nomzamo Matrics Aim For The Stars With The Help Of Somerset College"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1 \">\n<aside id=\"republication_tracker_tool-2\" class=\"republication_tracker_tool clearfix\">\n<h5 class=\"adtitle\">Republish for Free<\/h5>\n<div class=\"license\">\n<p><button name=\"Republish This Story\" id=\"cc-btn\" class=\"republication-tracker-tool-button\">Republish This Story<\/button><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"license\" rel=\"noreferrer license noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/nomzamo-matrics-aim-for-the-stars-with-the-help-of-somerset-college.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Creative Commons License\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/nomzamo-matrics-aim-for-the-stars-with-the-help-of-somerset-college.png\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"message\">\n<p>Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115633\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115633\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?attachment_id=115633\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"wp-image-115633 size-thumbnail lazyload\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/nomzamo-matrics-aim-for-the-stars-with-the-help-of-somerset-college.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-115633 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/nomzamo-matrics-aim-for-the-stars-with-the-help-of-somerset-college.jpg\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"200\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115633\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nomzamo High school learners commit to their Saturday classes at Somerset College Photo: Somerset College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The second term of the school year is underway and 2022\u2019s matrics are gearing up for their first set of Grade 12 exams in June.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an early Saturday morning and a bus is leaving from the neatly arranged classrooms of Nomzamo High School in Somerset West. The 24 learners inside are wearing their uniforms and carrying school bags, as they do every Saturday. They are on their way to Saturday School at Somerset College, determined to reach their goals in the upcoming exams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the years we\u2019ve engaged in many endeavours to improve our matric results,\u201d says Chris Mgubanto, Head of Nomzamo High. \u201cLast year, a partnership came about between us and Somerset College, where some of the educators would come to the school and tutor our learners on Saturdays.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The learners\u2019 commitment to their Saturday classes had a great impact, says Mxoleli Mguzulwa, maths and physics teacher at Nomzamo High. \u201cMost came to Grade 12 with low marks in maths. You\u2019d be amazed, but after marking their exam scripts, I saw great improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>An acute need<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is an acute need in South Africa for quality maths and science instruction, particularly in under-resourced schools. Inspired by the success of the curriculum recovery work that their teachers had done in 2021, Somerset College decided to formalise and expand the programme. As part of the school\u2019s 25-year celebrations, the Saturday School was launched on 22 January 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis initiative is a way we can live out the values we espouse: dignity, aspiration, creativity and contribution,\u201d notes Graham Sayer, Executive Head of Somerset College. \u201cYou can\u2019t sit on the sidelines when you have values like that; they impel you to get involved and do what you can to support where it\u2019s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And so, every Saturday the buses arrive and the 24 matric students from Nomzamo disembark at the ESTEAM Centre for sessions in Mathematics, Science and English facilitated by Somerset College\u2019s experienced and dedicated staff.<\/p>\n<p>Lessons start at 08:45 and finish at 13:00 with a 15-minute breakfast break in the morning. The students go for lunch at 13:00 before returning home at around 14:00. The programme will continue until they have completed their final exams in Maths and Science.<\/p>\n<p>Somerset College is also involved in supporting the teachers at Nomzamo High School who can elect to join the programme to hone their skills and discover new technologies, methodologies and curriculum enrichment.<\/p>\n<p>Initiatives in the pipeline include increasing Nomzamo High\u2019s internet line speed and improving security. This will make it possible to maximise the potential of technology and online teaching.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking to the future<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The intention is to improve matric examination outcomes, especially in Maths and Science, for local schools that are experiencing challenges. Somerset College aims to increase the number of subjects offered and to add a grade to their Saturday School every year until they are serving 1000 Grade 8 to 12 students every weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is Somerset College\u2019s 25th anniversary. It is an opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments with sincere gratitude for the unstinting generosity and endeavour that our alumni, parents, staff and students have contributed over a quarter of a century, and to be encouraged about how much more might be possible in the next 25. The Saturday School is very much part of that future,\u201d Sayers notes.<\/p>\n<p>Saturday school would not be possible without sponsorship from Life Healthcare, The Answer Series and Evergreen Office National, thanks to these organisations- all resources needed by the students have been provided. \u201cOur Saturday School will deliver improved chances for these learners to access tertiary opportunities, and with that in mind, we are very proud to announce that three bursaries are on offer from one of our donors,\u201d concludes Sayer.<\/p>\n<p>ENDS<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Somerset College<\/strong><br \/>Founded in 1997, Somerset College is an independent, co-educational school situated on a beautiful estate in the Winelands of the Western Cape. The College offers schooling from Grade 000 (age 4) to Matric, as well as Cambridge A-levels and IEB. Boarding is available for students in the Senior School. Somerset College offers a world-class education that best prepares students for tertiary education. The school prides itself on an ethos that allows for each student to embark on their own journey of personal growth and development of individual excellence. They aim to equip their students \u2013 through wider innovative educational initiatives, social programmes, entrepreneurial projects and their project-based ESTEAM programme (Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) \u2013 to be global citizens who keep up with world events and take their learning with them into the real world.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mypr.co.za\/contact\/featured\/\">CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"post-views-icon dashicons dashicons-chart-bar\"><\/span> <span class=\"post-views-label\">Press Release Views:<\/span> <span class=\"post-views-count\">140<\/span> <\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-pagination pagination\">Pages: <span class=\"post-page-numbers current\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>1<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/nomzamo-matrics-aim-for-the-stars-with-the-help-of-somerset-college\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Page <\/span>2<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\">Source: MyPR.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republish for Free Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Nomzamo High school learners commit to their Saturday classes at Somerset College Photo: Somerset College The second term of the school year is underway and 2022\u2019s matrics are gearing up for their first set of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":224162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9021],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-224161","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mypr","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/nomzamo-matrics-aim-for-the-stars-with-the-help-of-somerset-college.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}