Stellenzicht Secondary School Reading Project

It takes a village to raise a child. And in Jamestown, just outside Stellenbosch, an entire community took that saying to heart when it came to helping learners improve their reading, spelling and comprehension skills.

In 2015, the Friends of Stellenzicht, led by Dale Simons, joined forces with principal Lester Allies and his staff to introduce additional literacy lessons for Grades 8 and 9.

Retired teacher Alfred Christians joined the initiative in 2016, when more than 60 learners were identified as needing extra help. He was soon joined by local resident Ria Engelbrecht, who volunteered her time to provide individual attention to those who needed it most.

What began with some reluctance from learners soon developed into genuine enthusiasm. Reading aloud, spelling exercises and individual lessons helped build skills and confidence. And then came the competitions.

With financial support from Proud Partners, the school introduced incentives and prizes for StellenSpel, its spelling competition, StellenStorie for short stories and StellenDig for poetry. There was even StellenBundel, a collection of learners' writing illustrated by two talented young artists from the school.

What started as additional reading lessons became something much more: an opportunity for learners to discover the pleasure of words and take pride in their achievements.

And for Proud Partners, another opportunity to support dedicated people like Alfred and Ria, who were already making remarkable things happen.