Western Cape schools shortlisted for World’s Best School Prize to share their best practices
24 June 2022
Pinelands North Primary School and West End Primary School have been named in the Top 10 shortlist for the World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity.
The two Western Cape schools represent South Africa against eight schools from Australia, Malaysia, India, Uganda, Brazil, Jamaica, Kenya and Nigeria for the $50 000 prize for their category.
They will have the opportunity to showcase, on a global platform, their best practices and innovative approaches on how to overcome adversity.
Premier Alan Winde and Provincial Minister of Education, David Maynier, visited both schools to announce the wonderful news to their school communities.
“This is a proud day for our province and our country. To have two of our province’s schools shortlisted among the top 10 schools in the world in the category of ‘overcoming adversity’ is a massive achievement – setting a benchmark not only for our province but indeed the world over,” said Premier Alan Winde.
“Under the leadership of Principals Ann Morton and Clive Arries, Pinelands North Primary and West End Primary, respectively, have stood out for overcoming adversity – by giving each and every learner the opportunity to succeed in a caring and nurturing school environment. They achieved this by working together with many dedicated teachers, SGB members, administrators and other employees, as well as the broader community.”
Provincial Minister of Education, David Maynier said: “I am very proud of both schools and of the way in which their school communities have come together to overcome adversity. The fact our province’s schools were the only ones in South Africa to make it into the top 10 in any category speaks volumes about the incredible work that our principals and teachers and schools are doing to deliver quality education in the Western Cape.”
Reacting to the news, Principal of Pinelands-North Primary, Anne Morton commented: “We are so excited that our school has been chosen - this validates the community’s hard work over the past 20 years.”
Clive Arries, Principal of West End Primary said: “We are humbled by the facilitation and accolade to be nominated as one of the top ten schools in the world for our endeavours in managing adversity and creating opportunities for our learners and school community. Everyone is excited and we are looking forward to representing, not only our school but sharing the best practices of schools across South Africa."
The Top 3 finalists for each of the five World’s Best School Prizes - for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives - will be announced later this year. After a public advisory vote, the winner of each Prize will be chosen based on rigorous criteria by a Judging Academy comprising distinguished leaders across the globe including academics, educators, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, government, civil society, and the private sector.
All 50 shortlisted schools across the five Prizes will share their best practices through toolkits that showcase their “secret sauce” to innovative approaches and step-by-step instructions on how others can replicate their methods to help improve education everywhere.
