Introduction: Paul Baker is Director of Educational Innovation at Perse School, Cambridge, U.K.
Paul visited Christel House SA to establish a collaboration between Perse, a prestigious private school in the United Kingdom, and Christel House South Africa. The Perse partnership will focus on helping CHSA teachers improve math teaching methodology and better use technology in the classroom. It will also provide service learning experiences for Perse students.
On Monday I arrived back from visiting Christel House School in Cape Town, South Africa. This is one of six of their charitable independent schools around the world located by deprived areas with the express aim of helping children escape poverty through education. This two-week visit, during which I assisted with a review of maths teaching and ICT, was facilitated by Dr Ron Haylock, a governor of Perse School, U.K., who is also on the Christel House governing body.
The 750 children aged 5-18 are carefully chosen from the surrounding, most deprived townships; the criteria for entry unlike any other school: the children must be the poorest of the poor. Evidence of even the slightest wealth (perhaps a music player in their corrugated iron shacks) is enough to rule the family out of contention for a coveted place.
From these desperately poor beginnings with children who cross the academic spectrum, the school provides everything needed to flourish: free uniform, stationary, sport equipment, a cooked meal, a fruit snack and most importantly a high-class education with the power to change their lives for ever.
The first thing to strike me was just how grateful and focused the pupils were. In their smart uniforms, worn correctly, their enthusiastic contributions to lessons and their big smiles you can see how keen they are to grab with two hands this wonderful opportunity.
From their home environments many children come to the school with problems and the school is committed to meeting those needs with two on-site social workers and a nurse. Monday not Friday is their hardest teaching day as pupils return with the weekend events on their shoulders. Few pupils can study at home and so the upper school teachers stay late on a rota to 10:30pm.
Visiting the home of one pupil, I saw first hand a tiny shack with one small sleeping area for the boys and nothing to keep them warm apart from the coal fire setup each evening.
From these desperate conditions Christel House is doing something wonderful. Last year: 98% attendance, 99% retention and 100% of the final year students passing matriculation compared with only 68% nationally. Two-thirds of the class met the requirements for admission onto degrees.
Despite on-going cash from the foundation and support from large companies such as Dell, the school needs to become financially independent over the next 5 years to allow the foundation to start another school. This is no easy target and the school needs many more fund-raising partnerships. Perse school is establishing a long term relationship with Christel House to raise funds and to mutually benefit each other through exchange of culture and training.
Half the school’s retiring collection from its 2011 graduating class went to Christel House to help purchase interactive smart boards for the younger grades, a request from every one of the reception and grade one teachers that I met.
Two of my most treasured souvenirs from this trip are from Christel House. One is a carving of Africa presented to me as a leaving present by the staff, which will find a proud place on my wall. But this was trumped by a Father’s Day card made for me by Mbali Koetlo, grade 1. Many children in Christel House won’t have a present father figure for reasons of remote work, prison, separation or early death. I was very touched when Mbali brought it to me on the day I left, since I was away from my own children on Father’s Day. I will treasure it for ever along with my memories of this most inspiring of schools.
Labels: Christel House, guest visit, Paul Baker, Perse School, poverty, South Africa, students
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11:15 AM
