With its 2011 matric results, COSAT (the Centre of Science and Technology), a high school in Khayelitsha, achieved the remarkable distinction of being the first township school to be ranked in the top ten Western Cape schools, standing alongside well-known, established schools such as SACS and Westerford. We spoke to Helen George, SERI's (the Science Education Resources Initiative) manager, to find out the secrets of their success. 

Established in 1999, COSAT has been widely praised by the media and the Department of Education for its impressive academic record and achievements despite being a no-fees school. In 2004, the non-profit SERI was formed as the supporting arm of COSAT. SERI, who had a project funded through SASIX, is responsible for the extensive fundraising required for running COSAT and also for identifying bright young science and maths minds from Khayelitsha primary schools to enrol at COSAT for high school.

No excuses, just success
When asked what sets COSAT apart from other schools, Helen simply states, “there are no excuses, just success and everybody knows that it’s about being the best you can be”. This attitude and the ethos of hard work have contributed to COSAT being a centre of excellence with a 99% matric pass rate over the past ten years.

Helen does not attribute these remarkable results to a single factor. The teachers play an important role but this is complemented by learners’ attitudes and a willingness on the behalf of both staff and learners to explore beyond the standard curriculum, an approach that provides learners with different means of developing their skills. In particular, she credits the school’s library and its robotics programme as “two critical things in the school’s success”.

Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation and application of robots. It requires the development of problem-solving skills that are otherwise neglected. SERI believes that robotics promotes a level of problem-solving that is neglected in the school curriculum. This helps with learners’ current work and thinking processes. For those who follow a mathematical or scientific path after school, the benefits of this alternative way of thinking soon become clear.

Library
A qualified English teacher, Helen is passionate about books and their fundamental role in the learning process. The well-established COSAT library reflects this love. She and her team have devoted hundreds of hours to starting a library that now has more than 8 000 books. Fiction and non-fiction books are carefully sourced to cater to all levels of English abilities and the non-fiction books hugely enrich learners’ research and learning experiences.

Attitude
If you’re not willing to motivate yourself and constantly work on improving your best, COSAT is not the place for you. Rather, it’s a school where being “cool” has an alternative meaning.  On enrolling at the school, learners are quickly attracted to the school’s ethos of excellence and learning and are dedicated to achieving outstanding results. Helen explains that this shift in thinking is quickly picked up on by learners, “[The change in attitude] happens in a matter of three weeks, the attitude change has already happened this year”.

Helen’s final comment epitomises what COSAT stands for. “There’s no such thing as a 30% pass”, she says. “This is a school where 100% is the goal”. With a new group of learners eager to achieve the success that hard work and COSAT’s innovative approach can bring, COSAT can look forward to many more years of great results.

COSAT have 120 more students than last year and need to raise R8,000 per student in Grades 8 and 9 and R10,000 for those in Grades10-12.  

> Visit SERI.org.za to find out more about supporting education in South Africa.