THE phrase “you have to crawl before you can walk” was once again proved to be on point by a high school in the Amathole West District of Fort Beaufort, where results put the matriculants of 2019 in a class of their own.
Newtown High School in Fort Beaufort, a newly established institution which was started in the community hall in 2015, entered its first candidates for matric in 2017.
In that year the school achieved a dismal matric pass rate and the school was in hot water again in 2018.
The school is housed in five mobile units, understaffed and does not even have an office or toilet facilities. Principal Margorie Fester and her SGB had to battle to get water and electricity connected to the school.
The school was last year classified as an underperforming school in the Amathole District. In the matric exam of 2019 the school silenced its critics when 20 out of 45 matriculants met the pass requirements.
This improved the pass rate from 3.8% in 2018 to 44.4% in 2019. The school is now being hailed as the most improved in the district.
An elated Fester told Komani-Karoo Express in an interview that the class of 2019 really made her proud.
“I wish to express my gratitude to our SGB, staff, learners, parents and all other stakeholders who were instrumental in this success story. We sacrificed so much last year and now we are reaping the dividends.
“We had afternoon and Saturday classes, interacted with parents and learners on a regular basis, worked through a multitude of exam papers and even sacrificed our annual matric farewell. But at the end of the day it is the dedication of the learners that paid off,” Fester said.
According to Fester, everyone is now singing the praises of the school and pressure will be applied on the department to build the community a proper school.
Out of the 20 successful candidates, four passed with bachelor passes while 18 of those who were not successful qualify for supplementary examinations starting in May.
