It’s been a while since we have reported back on our English.. Please! project. This project has been running for nearly 9 years and has been overwhelmingly successful in helping learners gain confidence in the English language and giving them the literacy skills they need to help them learn.

The project originally came about through a need for support in English for children from the Masiphumelele community who were attending Fish Hoek Primary School. In the long term, by attending this school the educational prospects of these children are massively improved, but on arrival they often struggle as Xhosa (or another African language) is their first language. Some grade 1 pupils have never spoken English and rarely hear the language at home or in their local community. This project is crucial for them to integrate into their new school. You can read more about how the project was established here.

The programme has also recently expanded to include learners at Simon’s Town Primary School after we were approached by the Grade 4 and 5 teachers to assist Masi learners with reading comprehension and written work in 2017. This programme is coordinated by a remedial teacher as well as one volunteer and has made incredible progress in the short time it has been running.

Term 3 update

Term three started with much excitement as we held a Prize Giving to acknowledge four English…Please! learners who achieved more than 60 % for English on their school report. Four other children also received an award for encouraging progress.

The top prize went to a learner whose English Mark improved by 12%. Their reward was a generous stationery pack from Absolut Tours. The children were delighted and so thankful!

The children also set their own academic goals for other subjects. Apart from English, their favourite subjects are Maths and History.  The bar was set high and two children have already achieved their goal and are now aiming even higher. Their reward will be chocolate!

This term we will be joined by three new pupils, taking our total this year to 19 pupils.

We would love your support in funding this worthwhile project next year – can you help us?