Growsmart top five learners in Literacy and Mathematics, top three learners in Story Writing and teams in Entrepreneurship for the Western Cape were announced at a prestigious prize-giving ceremony at The Avenue Conference Venue, Two Oceans Aquarium in the V&A Waterfront on 10 September 2022.

The Growsmart Educational Programme is a Corporate Social Initiative by Growthpoint Properties in collaboration with the Western 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), Mathematics and Entrepreneurship.

The finals were fiercely contested by 81 of the top grade 4, 5 and 6 learners across all eight education districts in the Western Cape.

Finalists had to progress through the first three rounds of the competition, which began 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 chosen from 400 participants and 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:

1. 1. Kaylin Hufke: Kalkfontein Primary School, Kuils River, Cape Town
2. Madison Davids: Highlands Primary School, Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town
3. Azra Hendricks: Pelican Park Primary School, Grassy Park, Cape Town
4. Zohan van Niekerk: Hermeslaan Primary School, Atlantis, Cape Town
5. Yumna Mlima: Pelican Park Primary School, Grassy Park, Cape Town

As the winning Literacy learner, Kaylin Hufke has been invited to represent South Africa in the three-member junior African Spelling Bee South Africa Team to participate in the African Spelling Bee 2022 from 6 to 11 December in Blantyre, Malawi. Kaylin will be sponsored by Growsmart for this event.

Hufke’s achievement has also won Kalkfontein Primary School an iPad Lab valued at R350,000, supporting future learning and positive education outcomes.

In the Mathematics Competition, 25 finalists of the 405 registered participants faced questions varying from BODMAS to problem-solving and mental mathematics. The winners are:

1. Seanwin Christians: Dennemere Primary School, Blue Downs, Cape Town
2. Abdi Shakur Yusuf: Idas Valley Primary School, Stellenbosch, Cape Winelands
3. Steford van Kolver: Diazville Primary School, Saldanha, West Coast
4. Imaan Pillay: Pelican Park Primary School, Grassy Park, Cape Town
5. Chante van Rooi: William Lloyd Primary School, Paarl, Western Cape

The Story Writing Competition is project-based and mentor-led, where learners submit their own original written stories. Over 200 story books were submitted. The winners are:

1. 1. Fatimah Shabodien: Newfields Primary School, Athlone, Cape Town
2. Nirico Buys: Helderkruin Primary School, Blue Downs, Cape Town
3. Daiyaan Hendricks: Belmor Primary School, Philippi, Cape Town

Also project-based and mentor-led, the Entrepreneurship Competition assessed unique business ideas from teams of three learners to recognise profitable or exceptional business models. From the 25 creative business ideas submitted, seven reached the finals. The winners are:

1. Silverlea Primary School, Athlone, Cape Town
2. Dalweide Primary School, Paarl, Western Cape
3. Helderkruin Primary School, Blue Downs, Cape Town

“Congratulations to all our top learners, mentors and schools, and to everyone who participated in the programme this year in its online format, which is more relevant, fun and innovative than ever before,” says Jewel Harris, founder of Growsmart and General Manager of Growthpoint Properties Cape Town.

Growthpoint Properties Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Shawn Theunissen,  adds, “Education remains a priority in South Africa, and Growthpoint supports and promotes access to quality education. Investing for positive social impact across the entire education value chain as part of our corporate social responsibility not only changes lives today but for generations to come. The fun, competitive Growsmart educational programme is one of the most successful ways that we help to improve educational outcomes at the primary school level and create 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 has since expanded to the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. In total, over 2,450 learners participated in the 2022 Growsmart programme.

Congratulations to all the Western Cape winners.