Grade 7 teachers will receive an exemplar learning programme for all areas of learning by April. Teachers who have not as yet undergone training will do a week long training session in July. Teachers will use the exemplar learning programme and training to draw up work schedules for 2005.

For most grade 7 learners this is the last year of primary school. You should work hard at all eight learning areas to ensure that you pass into Grade 8 and that you obtain a good general education and training which is necessary to enter the Further Education and Training Phase.

High school teachers and principals complain that many Grade8 learners do not have the necessary reading, writing or maths skills for the high schools curriculum.

They have to repeat what has already been taught on primary school level.

This can be very boring. Ensure that you are ready and surprise your teachers with your skills in literacy and numeracy. Clever kids are cool.

Read and write daily, even during the holidays because it will be expected you to read more, faster and on more complex levels than before.

Most Grade 8 learners will be in new schools. Remember that you cannot succeed in the Further Education and Training Phase if you do not lay a good foundation now. Read, write and practice your mathematics at every opportunity so that you can enjoy all the Learning Areas of the grade 8 and 9 curriculum. This foundation will also allow you to enter the Further Education and Training Phase. Furthermore good results in all subjects will allow you to choose which subjects you will study in the FET Phase.

Do not close down opportunities of study by goofing off now. Remember next year you will choose the subjects or courses you will study - but many have requirements of maths and language, which you must fulfil if you want to take these courses. Your results are also considered for bursaries and loans.

On 2 & 15 June 2005 all grade 8 learners in the Western Cape will write international reading and maths tests. You will receive the results in January 2006. But you and your teachers should use the tests immediately after the tests to assess your ability on these benchmarked tests.

This is the first year in which learners will choose subjects for the FET. The WCED has offered training courses to teachers from all schools so that learners can be provided with advice on the courses and subjects they can study in the FET Phase.

All grade 9 teachers should take responsibility for assisting learners to reach their full potential and support them both through the curriculum offered and through advice to choose appropriate courses.

The Department of Education will provide Common Tasks of Assessment to all schools for use in grade 9. The promotion mark should include the mark for CTA tests, exams and other forms of assessment conducted throughout the year. This will be used to determine promotion to the FET-band at the end of 2005.

Grade 9 learners who participated in the 2004 Grade 8 reading and maths tests will all receive certificates. The top 2% of learners will receive high distinction certificates and the top 10% distinction will receive certificates.

Grade 9 learners - this is your last chance to get a really good report on your General Education and Training phase. Your grade 9 results will determine which subjects or programmes you will be able to study in the FET.

Don't find yourself in a position where you cannot study a certain subject or college course because your grades are not good enough. The final report in grade 9 will reflect the work and assessment tasks completed throughout the 2005 academic year.

Don't jeopardise your chances and dreams. Work consistently every day and read, read, read.

Grades 10, 11 and 12 will be known as the Further Education and Training Band in schools in future. The new curriculum for Grades 10 -12 in known as the National Curriculum Statement and is scheduled for introduction in 2006 in grade 10, 2007 in grade 11 and 2008 in grade 12. In 2005 all teachers teaching Grades 10 - 12 will attend training courses in the National Curriculum Statements. Details of the training will be provided to schools early in the first term of 2005.

Teachers should by now be familiar with the Subject Statements for the subjects they teach. These spell out the knowledge and skills to be taught in the various subjects of the new curriculum. In the next three years teachers will develop the expertise to offer these exciting new curricula.

Grade 12 learners in 2004 experienced mixed success. 33 000 passed the Senior Certificate. Altogether10 500 learners achieved endorsement passes which allow them to study at higher education institutions. Many who wrote the examinations were disappointed either with the result or the grades they achieved. If you are in Grades 10, 11 or 12 make sure that you give yourself the best opportunity to attain the results you want and need to fulfill your dreams.

Learners in Grade 10, 11 and 12 in 2005 will write the Senior Certificate Examinations that have been offered in recent years. You therefore have access to teachers and learners that have done this before. Ask their advice on how to approach the months and years that you have left at school. Listen to their advice and start your preparation now.

Preparing for the final examinations is a three-year process and if you tackle it this way then the three years will be fun and exciting. If you leave it all to the last minute it will stress you and your family and teachers. Start to plan you academic work (and your social life) from January 2005. Remember that failing to plan is planning to fail!

Five steps to success!

1. Find out what will be covered in each of the three years in each of your subjects. Become familiar with the subject content so that you know what is coming and what your strengths and weaknesses are.

2. Get hold of past Grade 12 examination papers from friends, teachers or the wced website (even if you are in grade 10) so that you know how you will be assessed at the end of the three years.

3. Make sure you have a good textbook for each subject that covers the main areas of the subject as well as all the relevant setwork books.

4. Find out what your continuous assessment portfolio will look like for the year so that you can start to plan.

5. Read and write every day. Expertise in these high level skills requires lots and lots of practice.

FET will provide a quality learning home for all

1. Grade 10 learners in 2006 will be the first to write exams for the new Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC) in schools in 2008.

2. Umalusi will quality assure the assessment, including exams to ensure that the FETC meets national & international standards.

3. FET in schools (Grades 10 to 12) and FET colleges will provide further opportunities for education, skills development and employment.

4. FET in schools and colleges will form part of a well-integrated, national education system designed to provide quality education for all.

5. The FET curriculum for schools is designed to ensure a well-balanced, quality education offering a comprehensive range of subjects.

Learning fields of Further Education and Training:

Agricultural Sciences
Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Management Practices and Agricultural Technology

Arts and Culture
Dance Studies, Design, Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts

Business, Commerce and Management Studies
Accounting, Business Studies and Economics

Languages
A11 Official Languages (Home Language and First Additional Language), 11 Official Languages (Second Additional Language), 13 Non-official Languages: Arabic, French, German and other selected languages

Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology
Electrical Technology, Engineering Graphics and Design, Mechanical Technology and Civil Technology

Human and Social Sciences
Geography, History, Life Orientation and Religion Studies

Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences
Computer Applications Technology, Information Technology, Life Sciences, Mathematical Literacy, Mathematics and Physical Science

Services
Consumer Studies, Hospitality Studies and Tourism

For further information on FET in schools, visit the WCED Curriculum web site (http://curriculum. wcape.school.za)  or  visit your nearest high school or Education Management and Development Centre (EMDC).

This article first appeared in newspapers in the week of 17 - 21 January 2005