Today is the first day of the fourth and final term in the school calendar.

The final term is extremely important for all our learners, educators and officials.

All educators now need to ensure that they complete the required curriculum for their specific grades. We will also see the start of the National Senior Certificate Examinations this month and Literacy and Numeracy testing for Grade 3,6 and 9s will be taking place in all our schools.

We must do everything possible to ensure that we use the remaining two months effectively so that all learners receive the quality education they deserve.

This is particularly important for our Grade 12s. There are only 20 days to go before the first theory examination, and we are urging parents, educators and learners to ensure that every hour is used for extra tuition and revision.

I am extremely pleased with the success of our spring holiday programmes for Grade 12s. There was an impressive turnout of learners at most of the schools, with some schools, such as Iqhayiya Secondary in Khayelitsha, reporting over 90% attendance during the course of the week.

I sincerely hope that the energy and positivity demonstrated at these camps by both educators and learners continue throughout the fourth term. It must be stressed that although the examinations start on the 25th of October, teaching and learning should continue right up until the final examination.

The WCED has extended its telematics programmes and the tutoring programme until the 5th of November and will be considering extra support for subjects that will be written later in November to specific schools.

Although the WCED will be handing out personalized official timetables for full-time learners later in the week, we encourage all Grade 12 learners to start planning ahead for the examinations by writing out their own personalized timetables on their specific subjects.

They can then put together their own study programme based on those dates. Tips on how to do this and examination dates can be found in their “Tips for Success” handbooks.

Learners will soon receive their results for the September Preliminary Examinations and it is important that learners also use these results to formulate their study timetables.

They are encouraged to focus on subjects where they have produced poor results during the September examinations or in subject areas they are unsure of.

The WCED will also be assessing these results to determine which schools need subject-specific support.

Despite the many obstacles we have faced this year, most of our educators, learners and officials in the Western Cape are enthusiastic and positive. So while we have a busy term ahead, I am confident that we will all continue to support and encourage our learners in this province by ensuring that they receive quality tuition with the shared goal of improving their outcomes and opportunities.

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

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