School principal, Cass Sehloho, was delighted with the results and extremely proud of the class of 2010. “The results were thanks to the hard work and dedication of the pupils, their educators and their parents,” he says.

Ingqayizivele High School formed part of Gauteng Education MEC Barbara Creecy’s Secondary School Improvement Programme. “We took part in the programme along with 275 other schools that had a pass rate under 70%,” explains Sehloho.

In addition, Sehloho and his team of educators held workshops at the beginning of 2010 to determine how best to improve the matric pass rate. “We put a number of strategies in place, including one which saw the Grade 12 learners and educators starting school at 7am and staying later in the afternoons for extra lessons. With the help of our dedicated educators and the commitment of the parents and the learners themselves, this proved to be a successful initiative which ran from April throughout the duration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”

All the hard work paid off, and not only did the school’s pass rate increase significantly, but it received a special mention when the results were announced, for being the top school in the Secondary School Improvement Programme. “We were extremely proud of this accolade and even more honoured when Deputy Minister himself came to the school on the first day of the 2011 term to present us with an LCD TV and DVD player to mark the achievement,” says Sehloho.

Siemens South Africa has partnered with the school over the past three years, donating a computer room as well as chemicals and equipment for the school’s science laboratory to facilitate experimental work. Sehloho believes the partnership with Siemens has been one of the factors behind the improved science and mathematics results amongst the Grade 12 pupils. “In 2009, the mathematics average was 54% and the average for natural science was 51%. These marks have improved drastically. 2010 saw mathematics at 83% and the natural science average increasing 83.3%,” he informs.

District Director, Ephraim Tau agrees that Siemens has contributed immensely to the school’s success by giving learners the opportunity to perform various tasks using computers, thus honing their skills in this area. “In addition, the atmosphere for learning and teaching was highly conducive as a result of a safe environment and adequate furniture,” he says.

Freddie Mokhashane, Chief Education Specialist, points out that the partnership with Siemens has helped the school to achieve good results on a yearly basis. “This is largely due to the resources Siemens has provided, which have a positive impact on both learners and educators.”

He adds that Maths and Science are important gateway subjects, enabling learners to have some diversity when it comes to career choices later in life. “Scarce skills are predominantly in the fields of Science and Accounting – and of course Maths is a prerequisite for accounting.”

For Tau, Maths and Science teaching is critical for the economic development of any country as well as for research and sustainability purposes. It is equally as important for life skills and admission to tertiary institutions.

“Our core objective in terms of education is to produce learners that are able to address societal needs and aspirations. Partnerships with the private sector are helpful in this regard, as they allow for the resourcing of schools that have the potential to achieve excellent results. We’re in specific need of IT integrated tools for learning and teaching,” Mokhashane says.

He points out that schools like Ingqayizivele High School serve as an ideal model for other township schools. “The school’s leadership has played an important role here too,” he states.

“We hope to continue our relationship with Siemens into the future,” Sehloho continues. “After all, while we are immensely proud of what our 2010 students have achieved, we have not reached our ultimate goal – a 100% pass rate. 2011 will be our year to make this dream a reality.”