Growsmart’s top five learners in Literacy and Mathematics, and the top three learners in Story Writing for the Eastern Cape were announced at a prestigious prize-giving ceremony at the East London Convention Centre on 17 September 2022.
The Growsmart Educational Programme is a Corporate Social Initiative by Growthpoint Properties in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Education Department.
Growsmart’s vision is to empower young learners experiencing challenging circumstances to reach their full potential through opportunities for quality education with a positive impact on their future. It is an online and project-based inter-school/inter-grade competition in Literacy, Story Writing (creative writing), and Mathematics.
The finals were fiercely contested by 60 of the top grade 4, 5 and 6 learners from 22 schools across seven education districts in the Eastern Cape.
Finalists had to progress through the first three rounds of the fun, innovative competition. They began working in May 2022 to earn their place in the fourth and final stage.
They prepared for the various competitions by studying and completing the Growsmart content available for free on the Growsmart website, which includes electronic newspapers, interactive activity workbooks, and online preparation tutorials for learners and teachers.
The 25 finalists in the Literacy Competition were tested on their ability to correctly spell, define and use the words in a sentence, as well as on verbs, nouns, idioms and adjectives throughout the competition. The winners are:
- Qandashe Onesimo: Fanti Gaqa Senior Primary School, Mdantsane, East London
- Lelomso Mdluli: Fanti Gaqa Senior Primary School, Mdantsane, East London
- Amila Rali: Joe Slovo Primary School, KwaDwesi, Gqeberha
- Zimi Tukani: Kude Kwalapha Lower Primary School, Cradock
- Lenarsha Saku: Graaff Reinet Primary School, Graaf Reinet
Qandashe Onesimo’s achievement has won Fanti Gaqa Senior Primary School an iPad Lab valued at R350,000, supporting future learning and positive education outcomes.
In the Mathematics Competition, 25 finalists faced questions varying from BODMAS to problem-solving and mental mathematics. The winners are:
- Lukas Biru: South Bourne Primary School, Komani, Queenstown
- Kamva Sokoyi: Kude Kwalapha Lower Primary School, Cradock
- Bonang Rayo: Nontuthuzelo Primary School, Gompo, East London
- Lisolethu Sajini: Kude Kwalapha Lower Primary School, Cradock
- Awothando Joy Ndabambi: South Bourne, Komani, Queenstown
The Story Writing Competition is project-based and mentor-led, where learners submit their own original written stories. The winners are:
- Reshanique Jantjies: Kamdebo Primary, Saarah Baartman (Graaf Reinet)
- Franco Napisi: Dalrose Primary, Uitenhage
- Athena Caesar: Uitenhage Primary, Uitenhage
“This year was an extremely exciting one for Growsmart in the Eastern Cape as the competition was tougher than ever before with three new districts participating for the first time. This is a great result, and we are proud to have even greater positive impacts on young minds in the province. Congratulations to all the winning learners, mentors and schools, and to everyone who participated in the programme,” says Jewel Harris, founder of Growsmart and General Manager of Growthpoint Properties Cape Town.
Shawn Theunissen, Growthpoint Properties Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, adds, “We believe that a focus on education today will create lasting social transformation for generations to come. One way that Growthpoint supports and promotes access to quality education is through Growsmart. Over a dozen years, it has proven to be a fun, competitive and successful way to help improve educational outcomes at the primary school level with the aim of creating a more inclusive society in the long term.”
The Growsmart competition winners – learners and teachers – were rewarded with substantial prizes to support their future education. First, second and third-prize winners in each competition received educational material to the value of R20,000, R10,000 and R5,000, respectively. Correspondingly, their mentors were rewarded with a gift voucher from a Growthpoint Shopping Centre to the value of R10,000, R5,000 and R1,500.
All finalists were also given the opportunity and assistance to apply for a bursary through the Growsmart Bursary Programme. Since its inception, Growsmart and its partners have sponsored and assisted 25 alumni in reaching their educational goals in high school and tertiary institutions.
The Growsmart competition was first launched in the Western Cape in 2010 to boost primary school learners’ performance in literacy and mathematics. Based on its success, it expanded to the Eastern Cape in 2018 and has since expanded to Limpopo. In total, over 2,450 learners participated in the 2022 Growsmart programme.
Congratulations to all the Eastern Cape winners.