SHINE ACADEMIA PROGRAM – ABOUT US
OVERVIEW OF THE SHINE ACADEMIA PROGRAMME AT GROOTE SCHUUR HIGH SCHOOL
Synopsis of SHINE ACADEMIA
The SHINE ACADEMIA Programme is a professionally run educational intervention for Grade 11 & 12 learners, based at Groote Schuur High School, with the aim of becoming a renowned school of excellence in core academic areas such as Mathematics*(compulsory), Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, English Home Language & Afrikaans First Additional language. SHINE ACADEMIA is a Mathematics and Science initiative which is aimed at providing learners with an opportunity to improve their academic results through a quality teaching experience in small intimate classes (approximately 15 learners) with an effective IEB & CAPS curriculum which is in alignment with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). SHINE ACADEMIA has become one of the prestigious and successful programs in Western Cape through the team’s concerted hard work, devotion, enthusiasm and passion for education and upliftment. Lessons are taught by proficient, experienced and committed educators who have produced excellent results over the past years. Our educators are past Principals, current Deputy Principals and Heads of Departments and they are recipients of accolades and awards. This initiative is aimed at providing educational support to learners, “catch up” and rebuild solid foundations/reinforce learning materials so that they can deliver their absolute best (significantly improve their results) and achieve their academic aspirations.
Our goal is to inculcate a love for Maths and Science among the learners in order to provide South Africa with a labour force that is well-educated and competent. Through our combined efforts, we can surely contribute towards building a better country by providing quality education for our children. The SHINE ACADEMIA product/service offering provides curriculum support in core academic areas and the services are rendered by 15 professional educators, sourced from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). SHINE ACADEMIA, in partnership with the support of Groote Schuur Management wants to make a difference in the lives of 185 learners in 2025. To date SHINE ACADEMIA delivers this service across two platforms. Firstly, the Saturday School Programme: where 65 Grade-11 learners are selected by their academic potential and commitment from their schools. These learners come from selected partnering schools from under serviced communities (e.g. Cape Flats; Townships).
Secondly, the SHINE Programme: A social entrepreneurship initiative that is geared at sustaining the Saturday School Programme. The learner base ranges between 100-140 Grade 11 and 12 learners, from any/all social sectors and from any/all schools in the Western Cape Metropole – these learners are charged an economically competitive fee for their tuition. Learners convene on Saturday mornings for briefing at Groote Schuur High School Hall.
Both Programs have intense focus in core academic areas and are structured platforms that runs on most Saturdays throughout the year. Strict measures and systems are in place to optimize learners’ attendance and academic performance. SHINE ACADEMIA has developed a unique approach that has enabled it to build trust and cohesion to achieve academic excellence. The team consists of a Director, an administrator and 15 educators and we continuously oversee, monitor and evaluate both programs to render a better service to our learners. One of our targets is to visit the selected schools, build partnership and provide professional academic/curriculum support to committed/interested Grade 11 and 12 learners who meet our criteria. From the statistics it is evident that learners who attend SHINE Classes make remarkable academic progress. We provide workbooks and are committed to teach diligently to complete the curriculum, revise past exam papers and prepare learners thoroughly for final exams.
Current Scenario
It has become clear that the work that we do (academic support & reinforcement of CAPS curriculum) has a major role to play in the pursuit of academic excellence. SHINE team is well prepared and our educators have been trained to rise to the new challenges in order to complement lessons at school. We would like to extend our services to learners at various schools and this is an opportunity for some of the dedicated, enthusiastic learners to attend SHINE lessons and improve their results. SHINE team is confident that our pursuit and cultivation of excellence will mould the learners to cope with academic pressure and prepare them to compete for places at universities/tertiary institutes. We strongly urge learners who need additional academic support to take advantage of the limited spaces available.
We have requested learners to spend time preparing for the topics beforehand, educators have gone through past exam papers, emphasized on constructive revision and consolidation of the curriculum to adequately equip the learners with exam skills/techniques. Our goal is to produce outstanding results by offering ongoing online teaching. As we strive for academic excellence, we are committed to work consistently to complete the curriculum and prepare learners well for final exams.
Saturday School
Saturday School Programme is a professionally run educational intervention that engages with approximately 65 learners from a number of disadvantaged communities within the Cape Metropole.
Saturday School focuses on poorly resourced schools in Cape Town, the programme responds to current rates of under-performance in schools that still struggle to deliver high education standards. Our aim is to contribute to an increased number of successful schools and enhanced learner performance. The programme is built on improving teacher efficacy and the practice of classroom mentoring. Learners are required to write standardized tests in each term for all subjects. We analyse their control test results and school results to keep abreast of their academic progress. Saturday School is unique in that it selects Grade 11 learners from specific communities with the majority of learners significantly behind the academic standard prescribed by their Grade. Learners are mentored and taught at the highest levels, thereby substantially increasing their chances of accessing tertiary education opportunities, despite their educational and other disadvantages.
The Saturday school aims to strengthen learners’ abilities in core subjects such as Mathematics, Physical Sciences and English Home Language. The programme provides learners with opportunities to acquire skills and experiences in preparation for tertiary studies and develop a sense of confidence and belief in their abilities.
Key to the success of Saturday School, is that registered learners are taken out of their communities and transported to the Groote Schuur High School (GSHS) for extra lessons on Saturdays. SHINE ACADEMIA started the Saturday School Programme in 2020 at GSHS to give participating learners access to resources and facilities that are not currently available at their present schools.
Developing a learner holistically is our focus-Maintaining high academic standards, standardized tests, recruiting the best teachers, access to well-resourced laboratories to conduct Practicals/experiments, providing career guidance, life-skills workshops, Science Expo, preparing for NBT etc. provide learners various avenues to acquire skills and experiences to cope with the academic pressure (in preparation for tertiary studies). Learners are exposed to state of the arts lecture theatres and class rooms.
To our amazement, it has been found that many educators and schools in the Western Cape are using our workbooks in classrooms and thus has a great impact on wider communities. Though it is a violation of copyright, we take the use of our books as a further reassurance about the quality our intervention.
One of the strongholds of the Academic intervention is the fact that rigid internal evaluation procedures are structured into the programme. We have incorporated strict monitoring and evaluation techniques to adequately track and screen the progress of the program and the impact of the curriculum. The techniques that we use are: collecting and analyzing academic results from schools, administrating at least 3 control tests, tracking attendance data, learner surveys on project and teacher evaluation, teacher evaluation based on performance standards and observation techniques and capturing throughput data of the Grade 11 learners. Through maintaining constant contact with school coordinators, principals and encouraging communication, it has been possible to be vigilant of the all-round progress of the learners.
Practical Information about The SATURDAY SCHOOL Programme
- Target areas; Bonteheuwel, Athlone, Silvertown, Lansdowne, Gatesville and Crawford
- The Saturday School programme has partnered with 8 schools in 2025
- Intense & concerted focus on Mathematics, Physical Sciences and English Home Language & it is compulsory that learners take 3 subjects
- Learners are streamed and grouped according to their Mathematics school results/academic performance
- All accepted learners must pay their registration fee and workbook fee in advance
- 65 learners have been recruited into the 2025 program based on their academic results and subjects they have selected
- Approximately 20 learners per class and 31 contact sessions.
- 8 teachers are employed by SHINE ACADEMIA to conduct the Saturday School classes
- Learners must wear school uniform and represent their respective schools at Groote Schuur High School
- Learners are transported to and from Groote Schuur High School
SHINE Program & Strategy
SHINE is a social entrepreneurship initiative and we charge learners an economically competitive fee for tuition. Fees are used to cover the costs of the programme as well as to cross subsidize/fund the Saturday School programme which provides tuition for learners from under- serviced communities/schools who do not have access to SHINE Programme due to a variety of socio-economic factors
SHINE programme gives participating learners access to resources and facilities that would build the learners intellectually, socially and culturally in order to better prepare them for tertiary studies. SHINE ACADEMIA provides a concerted and focused academic enrichment programme to enhance the learners’ academic results (strengthen the learners’ abilities in core academic areas) and life skills in order to better prepare them for competing places at universities. Attendance registers are maintained to keep track of absenteeism and to better understand reasons for any non-engagement. This perseverance and dedication have paid off: we have been achieving +/-90 % attendance for our classes every week.
SHINE Programme upholds the high quality by sourcing the expert educators who are committed and passionate, by keeping the classes small & intimate, by maintaining high academic standard, by diligently maintaining data of marks and attendance and issuing report cards every term. Our objective is to make exceptional progress on the learners’ academic results through quality teaching experience and increase the number of learners who are admitted to tertiary studies from developing communities in Western Cape. We continuously scan for and employ competent educators to implement the revised curriculum effectively which is prescribed by the WCED.
The strategy that the SHINE ACADEMIA has is a model whereby there is a combination of philanthropic and profit-based service provision under the same unit has kept us afloat. The Unit provides an educational support service; receiving money from a section of society that is willing to pay for it (SHINE) and using any surplus generated towards subsidizing a section of society that is unable to pay for it (Saturday School). The educational support services that the SHINE ACADEMIA provides is now well established and, overtime, has become known for quality service at affordable costs. Sustainability includes both the ability to provide a first-class service as well as to ensure the financial stability to carry out the service.
For both projects there is a win –win situation. The concept is based on the HAVE’s helping the HAVE NOT’s. The one project creates income opportunities; both receive educational opportunities and act as a vehicle that empowers learners to achieve their academic objectives. Our goal is to work towards fully sustaining the Saturday School (free tuition/non-paying) with fees collected from the SHINE programme. We estimate that this will be possible in the year 2023. This would mean that the organisation achieves full financial sustainability. With the dedicated and concerted effort by the team, we are confident that our target of 100% financial sustainability can be achieved (this unique situation is rarely found in non-profits).
External funding/capital injection from CSI will be required for another 3 years to sustain the Saturday School and compensate/make up for the shortfall that the surplus from the income generating SHINE programme cannot meet. Essentially, for the next three years we require a 50/50 relationship with external funders, where 50% of the budget is generated internally and 50% should be brought in by CSI. The ultimate goal of the SHINE ACADEMIA is to become fully self-funded.
We are consistent in exposing learners to an organized weekly curriculum plan across Grades 11-12 which further enhances and reinforces learning materials. SHINE learners are mentored, and are encouraged to pursue degrees in Engineering, Health Sciences, Commerce and related fields. This avenue of supplementation provides SHINE lessons environment where, constructive engagement, critical thinking and sharing subject knowledge has become the order of the day. Expertise are drawn from a cross – section of faculties and departments to ensure that SHINE Program is a success.
Practical Information about The SHINE Programme
• Target areas; Any/all schools around Cape Metropole
• Subjects offered are Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, English Home Language and Afrikaans First Additional language.
• Learners are encouraged to take three subjects that the programme offers. A learner can, however, take a minimum of two and a maximum of 3 subjects of which Mathematics is compulsory.
• Learners are streamed and grouped according to their Mathematics school results/academic performance
• All accepted learners must pay their tuition fees, workbook fees and registration fee in advance
• Approximately 15 learners per class and 31 contact sessions.
• 11 educators are employed to conduct SHINE classes
• Learners must wear school uniform and represent their respective schools at Groote Schuur High School.
• Learners must organised their own transport to and from Groote Schuur High School
2024 SHINE ACADEMIA NSC RESULS & aNALYSIS 2025 HIGHER EDUCATION UPTAKE
Conclusion
SHINE ACADEMIA is achieving clear, tangible results which is directly linked to the contributions and concerted effort of the team. Staff go beyond their call of duty and job descriptions because of the passion for the work they do. At the commencement of the program, we made a commitment that our ethos would rest on three pillars: high academic quality, consistency and value for investment. We have striven to maintain the three commitments by recruiting the best teachers and keeping the learners focused on their studies and will continue to do so in the future.
Being part of SHINE ACADEMIA is a privilege and we believe that learners take advantage of this golden opportunity provided! We at SHINE ACADEMIA certainly look forward to supporting learners in their academic endeavours. Our children deserve no less!