WCED Home page | Media Releases Index page


Media Release

20 April, 2010

World Cup study and holiday plans

“Keeping our learners safe during the 2010 World Cup and the mid-year holidays is a major concern for this administration,” said Minister for Education in the Western Cape Donald Grant.

“Not only do we want to make sure that they are free from harms way, we also plan to make the most of the World Cup, by using the energy around the event to support teaching and learning in our schools.”

The WCED will be implementing a number of initiatives that are aimed to help improve learner education outcomes leading up to, and during, the World Cup, as well as keep them safe and preoccupied during the longer winter holiday break.

Grant said that a number of other schools will be open for holiday activities and programmes.

"Safe Schools have developed programmes which will be run at the schools to keep the children safe and occupied. The programmes will offer cultural activities and sport, along with developmental courses such as conflict resolution and drug awareness."

“As stated in our strategic plan for education, improving the Grade 12 pass rate is a major priority of ours. Therefore, we are going to turn the long holiday period into an opportunity to help our Grade 12 learners prepare for their final examinations,” he said.

“Curriculum advisors for Grades 10 to 12 have prepared guidelines on how to use the five-week holiday for revision for each of the 29 subjects in the national curriculum. The department will also be broadcasting lessons to selected schools from Stellenbosch University using the satellite-based Telematics system, radio broadcasts and Winter Schools.”

Grant said that another key education priority of is to improve academic performance in literacy.

“This holiday period will give our learners the opportunity to catch up on their reading. Research has shown that younger learners can lose some of their reading skills if they don’t practice reading during long holidays,” he said.

“Therefore, we have prepared extensive reading lists for learners of all ages, to encourage holiday and leisure time reading. The department’s library support service has prepared the lists specifically with the long December and mid-year 2010 holidays in mind.”

The reading lists cover the three official languages of the Western Cape and are available on the WCED web site (http://wced.wcape.gov.za - see “information for parents”). The books are generally available in school and public libraries.

“We are currently exploring other means to protect and stimulate our children during this time, and are in constant consultation with the provincial departments and other various roleplayers to develop further programmes,” said Grant.

“In terms of the World Cup awareness in our schools, the WCED’S General Education and Training (GET) curriculum advisors, responsible for Grades R to 9, are developing activities and games based on the World Cup to support education in as many subjects as possible,” said Grant.

“The department will be distributing the material via the web and in print form during the second term. The tasks will largely refer to the countries participating in the World Cup.”

"We welcome the fact that a number of schools in the province have voluntarily decided to return to school a week early. Although the number of teaching days is exactly the same as last year, we encourage other schools to follow suit."

“By encouraging learners to participate in exciting World Cup events at schools, as well as to include teaching and learning support, we can make this holiday a safe, positive and fun learning experience.”

"2010 will always be remembered because of the World Cup, but let’s also make it a year to remember in education!

We must not forget that while the World Cup lasts for only five weeks, the futures of our learners will be determined by the education that they receive now, and beyond, the World Cup 2010."

For enquiries, contact Bronagh Casey:  072 724 1422 or brcasey@pgwc.gov.za.


Issued by:
Bronagh Casey
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the Minister of Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2377
Fax: 021 425 5689

Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za


 return to: WCED Home page | Media Releases Index page
© 2010 WCED