School on winning formula

The African School for Excellence opened in Tsakane, on the East Rand, two years ago with the aim of equipping children from poor areas to compete on the world stage.

It seems to be succeeding.

Using the curriculum of the UK's Cambridge International Examinations, the school's 91 Grade 7 pupils have caught up with their British counterparts, with more than a quarter of them obtaining marks similar to the UK's best in English.

Lessons are divided into three half-hour sessions. Pupils must first try to solve a difficult question together and are then taken through the work with their teacher. Next they work on their own for the last 30 minutes.

The school challenged its 77 Grade 8 pupils to complete the annual national assessment intended for Grade 9 pupils in public schools.

The Grade 8 pupils achieved a 49% average in maths - improving from 34% earlier in the year.

Grade 9 pupils in public schools scored an average of 14% in the national assessment.

In English as a home language, the school's Grade 8 pupils achieved 59%, improving on last year's 43% in the annual national assessments.

The Department of Basic Education will announce the 2014 annual national assessment results on December 3. It wants "at least" 60% of pupils to achieve "acceptable" literacy and numeracy.

The department introduced the annual national assessments to determine the competence of pupils in grades one to six and in Grade 9.

Education expert Graeme Bloch said that although there had been "some" improvement, the quality of maths and science teaching in schools needed more attention.

"We should also consider assessing social cohesion issues which our children can incorporate into maths and science, such as solving the problem of HIV/Aids."

The secretary-general of the SA Democratic Teachers Union, Mugwena Maluleke, said: "The assessment should take place every three years, with the two years in-between used to implement improvement interventions if we want to [improve] numeracy and literacy."