Congratulations to our National Teaching Award winners!
26 October 2022
Four Western Cape teachers were named South Africa’s top teachers in their respective categories in the National Teaching Awards while two others emerged as the first runner-up.
The awards ceremony took place in Gauteng on Thursday, 20 October 2022 and was the culmination of a process which started with an invitation to all members of the school community to nominate deserving teachers for the NTAs.
The provincial awards ceremony was held on 9 September, and the provincial winners became nominees for the national awards.
Six of the Western Cape nominees placed in the top three nationally.
Luize Kroukamp of Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch was the winner in the category Excellence in Teaching Natural Sciences.
Marieke Pretorius of Apex High School in Eerste River won in the category Excellence in Teaching Physical Sciences.
The winner in the category Excellence in Special Needs Leadership was Yolanda Lupondo of Siviwe School of Skills in Gugulethu and the Kader Asmal Lifetime Achievement Award went to Ridwan Samodien of Kannemeyer Primary School in Grassy Park.
The second-place winners were Jamie-Lee Titus of Sunningdale Primary School in Blouberg in the category Excellence in Grade R Teaching and Charnelle Hector of Belmor Primary School in Hanover Park for Excellence in Primary School Teaching.
Western Cape Education Minister David Maynier said the awards ceremony was a wonderful recognition of the work that the teachers are doing in our schools. “I congratulate each of them on this outstanding achievement. We are so proud of you! They have all made us extremely proud, whether they won in their category or not.”
He reiterated what he said at the provincial ceremony. “The one thing that the pandemic taught us is that schools matter, and that teachers matter. Our teachers are the backbone of society, and our department’s most valuable asset.
“I thank all of our teachers across the province, for their innovation, dedication, integrity, commitment, courage, caring, and most importantly, the deep love that they have for the children of the Western Cape.”
