TEACH Ambassadors help transform South Africa’s “school of shame”

There was a time when government and society described Katlehong Secondary School, a high school on the East Rand of Johannesburg, as a sinking ship. A dismal pass rate of 39% in 2008 and 2009 earned it the nickname South Africa’s “school of shame”, and it was even threatened with closure unless something drastic was done to turn the situation around.

“But a miracle happened in my school,” says principal Frances Ngwenya, remembering how two individuals managed to inspire hundreds of learners and the teachers to take charge and turn Katlehong Secondary School into one of Gauteng’s greatest success stories in education.   

With the help of TEACH Ambassadors Chantelle Hulett and Lebogang Matlhare, Ngwenya managed to improve the pass rate from 39% to 75% at the end of 2011, above the national average of 70%.
“I remember in 2009, when I was told that if I didn’t bring the pass rate up to 60% by 2011, I should consider myself fired,” says Ngwenya. “I said, ‘just watch this space’.”

The TEACH Ambassadors began their work in 2010, and hit the ground running. Ngwenya explains they went far beyond the extra mile, staying late every day for extra lessons and one-on-one sessions with learners, and made themselves available to guide children in their personal lives.

“Love superseded everything, and the kids saw this. They fed off that energy.”

And perhaps more importantly, Hulett and Matlhare seemed to inject some much-needed enthusiasm into long-term staff at the school, many of whom had previously stuck with more archaic forms of teaching.

“Chantelle especially shook the rest of my teachers,” says Ngwenya. “She was a young girl with no teaching experience, but she had such discipline. I think the other teachers realised that, if they didn’t compete on equal footing, they were gone. But it was a healthy competition.”

Suddenly, full-time teachers were investing more time in learners, arriving early and leaving late in following the example set by the two TEACH Ambassadors. This change in attitude will prove to be a huge turning point in the school’s history if Ngwenya can maintain momentum.

Katlehong Secondary School was recently recognised as the third most improved school in the province, and Ngwenya was proud to receive a trophy at a Department of Basic Education awards ceremony – an achievement she says couldn’t have happened without the help of TEACH South Africa.

“I applaud the organisation. You have exposed us to so many important things. If I had Chantelle and Lebohang as Ambassadors at the school when I started in 2003, now I would boast a 100% pass rate.”

Learners like Resitsiwe Prudence Tlhabane now have the courage, self-confidence and ability to pursue their dreams and further their education at a tertiary level.

“I have finally succeeded in overcoming one of the most difficult hurdles in my life. I obtained remarkable grades, with an A, B and a D, and I will be doing a BA in Psychology at Wits University with three other learners from my year. We were able to achieve all of this thanks to the hard work and great support shown by our teachers,” says Tlhabane.