Description of project:

This is a tutoring programme for grade 12 learners to improve the maths and science Senior Certificate results of Learning Schools Project (LSP) schools.

The Shuttleworth Foundation?s involvement:

The Shuttleworth Foundation funded afternoon classes of tutoring that took place over a period of a month for 100 learners in the Metropole South area. In addition, the funding included the purchasing of physics and chemistry booklets used as learning materials.

Aims and objectives:

The aim of the project was to tutor grade 12 standard grade learners in Mathematics and Physical science in order to improve the pass rates and assist the learners to pass matric with these subjects.

Evaluation:

The programme ran smoothly and the following comparisons were supplied to the EMDC Metropole South.

Comparing results of learners in programme vs. other learners (November 2002)

In this section a comparison between the November 2002 results of the learners in the programme and the other learners, of the same schools, were made.

Mathematics

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

The above two tables show that learners benefited greatly from being part of the programme, compared to those who did not participate.

As a result of the data compiled and the feedback received, it can be concluded from the improvement in the final results of participating learners that the programme was a huge success. Both the participating learners and tutors recommended that a similar programme should be continued in 2003, although much earlier in the year and maybe over a longer period. Although some teachers from the participating schools did make contact with the tutors in the programme it is recommended that this link should be formalised in a future programme.

Based on the considerable improvement in the results, we are of the opinion that this programme made a valuable contribution to the lives of learners, who otherwise would not have had this opportunity.