After a lengthy process of revising Curriculum 2005, the national Department of Education (DoE) published the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) for General Education and Training (Grades R to 9) in the Government Gazette on 31 May 2002.

The RNCS for General Education and Training (GET), Grades R to 9, is being phased in over a period of five years.

At the beginning of 2004, the curriculum was introduced in the Foundation Phase (Grades R to 3) and this year it was introduced in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 to 6).

The Senior Phase (Grades 7 to 9) will be presented and implemented in stages, starting with Grade 7 in 2006, Grade 8 and Grade 9 thereafter.

About 3 000 Grade 7 teachers from across the Western Cape will attend training programmes during the last week of the July school holidays to learn more about the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) for the Senior Phase, especially Grade 7.

Their high school colleagues participated in similar Further Education and Training (FET) courses during the first two weeks of the July school holiday.

Grade 7 teachers will start attending training sessions on Monday. The theme for these workshops will be "Making the RNCS your curriculum". These workshops will be presented from 11 to 15 July 2005 at 46 different venues in the Western Cape.

Key features of the RNCS include comprehensive outcomes and assessment standards that define what children must know and be able to do in each grade and learning area, and how their progress should be assessed.

Preparations for these training sessions started in March this year, when 10 senior curriculum planners were invited to join the other provinces at the national Education Department to plan the training for this year, which focused only on the Grade 7 curriculum within the Senior Phase. This process was followed by four weeks of writing and editing of training documents.

The training was presented to 125 curriculum advisers who will present orientation courses to the Grade 7 teachers in the Western Cape Province.

Ms Sandra Fortuin is heading this process and, with the assistance of curriculum planners and their immediate head, Mr Michael Cameron, it will be monitored and supported by the Head Office staff.

We extend our appreciation to the teachers and school managers who show a keen interest in these training sessions. There have even been teachers from other provinces who have asked for permission to attend a course.

Our teachers and school managers are displaying a highly professional approach to implementing the revised national curriculum. They contributed significantly to our workshops last year, and we look forward to their contribution again this year.

The passion and interest shown by all teachers within the Western Cape is admirable. They are to be applauded for their dedication and hard work in upskilling themselves for the implementation of the Grade 7 curriculum.

Enquiries:  Mr Michael Cameron,  Tel. 021 467 2619