Non-profit school’s Bachelor pass surpasses the national average by more than double

Christel House South Africa, a non-profit school that enrols students from severely impoverished areas on the Cape Flats, celebrated a 95.3% matric pass rate and 78% Bachelor’s pass today, 21 January. This is a remarkable accomplishment, especially when compared to the national matric pass rate of 76.4% and Bachelor pass of 36.4% and given the impact of the pandemic over the past two years.

The high Bachelor pass means that many of the students are able to enter university. New statistics by Statistics SA (2021) prove that the chance of employment significantly increases with a degree. The class of 2021 will join the schools' comprehensive College and Careers programme, which assists students for five years post-school with their studies and employment.

The school put various measures in place to improve students’ chances of success in their final year. Matric students prepared for their final exams in the school’s Matric Study Intensive area. The space includes pop-up dorms, which housed the grade 12 students and provided them with a safe and conducive learning environment throughout their study and exam periods. Through clever design practice, the area also supported the school’s learning loss programme by transitioning into a tutor hub during the day. Through the programme, Christel House SA employed 28 additional tutors to assist Junior and High School students with remedial teaching to focus on subjects that required additional attention like Mathematics and Science. Forty-three matriculants at the school wrote the exam and twenty-nine distinctions were achieved.

Asekho N. from Langa is the top performing matriculant and Valedictorian for the class of 2021. She achieved six distinctions and will be studying towards a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree at Stellenbosch University. Asekho has faced numerous challenges, including the passing of her mother in 2019 and grandmother in 2021. She currently lives with her elderly father and even though she is responsible for cooking and cleaning at home, she still found time to study. “I faced many challenges in my matric year, including not being able to study at home because electricity was an issue. The Matric Study Intensive programme really helped with this as it provided me with a safe, quiet space to study. I also got so much support from the social workers and teachers at Christel House SA and am really thankful,” comments Asekho.

Zimkhita M. from Gugulethu was the Head Girl in 2021. She received three distinctions and is currently deciding if she will study Geography and Environmental Studies or Forestry at Stellenbosch University.

“The class of 2020 achieved a 100% pass rate last year and we are immensely proud of our class of 2021 for continuing the momentum of 95.3% this year. We know that these matriculants experienced a host of issues we will never begin to truly understand but as a school, we tried our best to support them. I’m honoured to witness our matric students’ resilience and ultimate success and want to make a notable mention of our dedicated staff who spent extra hours to get them to this point,” says Dr Ronald Fortune, High School Principal at Christel House SA.

Christel House does not recruit students based on talent but rather based on financial need, one measure of which is a maximum income of R1 500 per household member per month. This means that students who attend Christel House are not just from poor communities, but they are extremely destitute. Students who attend the school receive a full educational scholarship, complimented by poverty mitigation services including transport to the school, daily meals, guidance counselling and healthcare. The school prides itself on embedding a strong character-based and career-focused programme that has been instrumental in achieving its mission: to break the cycle of poverty.

Christel House is a registered non-profit organization and a100% of all donations benefit Christel House’s projects and programs. All South African donors are eligible to receive a tax-deductible 18A certificate and companies can receive B-BBEE points for their contributions as a 100% of Christel House’s beneficiaries are Black.