The Twinning Programme

 A twinning programme was established between Matthew Goniwe High School, Khayelitsha, Matthew Goniwe SchoolMatthew Goniwe SchoolCape Town and Radley College, Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Matthew Goniwe High School is situated in the heart of an informal settlement on the outskirts of Cape Town. The catchment area of the students is a typically poor community that lives well below the breadline and in hazardous conditions (e.g. sanitation, running water, shacks for houses). Currently there are 1,595 students with 52 teachers on the staff.

Radley College have supported a series of initiatives with Mathew Goniwe including the Feeding Scheme (run by parents) whereby matriculation students attend extra lessons and are given lunch as part of their attendance. Many families do not have enough to eat and it has been found that providing food encourages students to stay and has dramatically improved exam results.

The boys at Radley organise various fund-raising activities throughout the school year. They also maintain email links with Mathew Goniwe students.

Radley also provides curriculum support (where syllabuses are broadly compatible) through website links, textbooks and other resources.

It is hoped that the sharing of experience between both pupils and staff at both schools will lead to an enriched understanding of diverse cultures, of students cultural backgrounds and their individual aspirations.

Radley College also supported a Greening Programme run by the National Botanic Institute.

Before "greening" - inside Matthew Goniwe school yardBefore "greening" - inside Matthew Goniwe school yard A garden of indigenous plants has been grown from an otherwise windswept barren sandy school yard.A garden of indigenous plants has been grown from an otherwise windswept barren sandy school yard.

 

 

 

 

 

 This twinning arrangement has been difficult to sustain and has reached a natural conclusion.  Learners from the UK and from SA learnt a tremendous amount about each other.  The youngsters from Radley College have become major fundraisers on behalf of EDSA and recently raised over £20000 at a huge sponsored walk event and this funding is going back into educational projects in the urban and rural townships of the Western Cape.