Sebonwang Mphahlele arrived at Lufhereng Secondary in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 to turn the fortunes of the uheralded Soweto school around.
The school’s matric results were 51.9%.“Four years later, we are on 100%,”exclaimed an overjoyed Mphahlele as she highlighted her journey as the principal. Lefhureng, which has no permanent structure, was named as Gauteng’s top producer of matric results for 2024.
Of the school’s 165 candidates, 160earned bachelor passes while five got diploma passes. In 2020, Mphahlele was transferred to Lufhereng from Raymond Mhlaba Secondary in Tshepisong on the WestRand where she was a deputy principal.
At the time, the school in a massive settlement of Lufhereng in the west end of Soweto, was classified as an underperforming school.
“The school was categorised as section 52B, meaning we were underperforming. I came in June and we opened in August, so I had only six months to get a turnaround strategy for matric results, which I conquered with arise to 86.1% [pass rate]. That made us the most improved underperforming school,” Mphahlele explained her initial success.
Full week classes, camps helped us achieve 100% pass – Mphahlele
Overjoyed principals shares turnaround strategy for underperforming Lufhereng
Image: Antonio Muchave
Sebonwang Mphahlele arrived at Lufhereng Secondary in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 to turn the fortunes of the uheralded Soweto school around.
The school’s matric results were 51.9%.“Four years later, we are on 100%,”exclaimed an overjoyed Mphahlele as she highlighted her journey as the principal. Lefhureng, which has no permanent structure, was named as Gauteng’s top producer of matric results for 2024.
Of the school’s 165 candidates, 160earned bachelor passes while five got diploma passes. In 2020, Mphahlele was transferred to Lufhereng from Raymond Mhlaba Secondary in Tshepisong on the WestRand where she was a deputy principal.
At the time, the school in a massive settlement of Lufhereng in the west end of Soweto, was classified as an underperforming school.
“The school was categorised as section 52B, meaning we were underperforming. I came in June and we opened in August, so I had only six months to get a turnaround strategy for matric results, which I conquered with arise to 86.1% [pass rate]. That made us the most improved underperforming school,” Mphahlele explained her initial success.
She conceded that the journey was not an easy one as in 2022 they dropped the ball.
“We were expecting 100% because we had school from Monday to Sunday, including cross-night sessions and camps. Our strategy was building up to ensure we secure the expectations we made as the school.”
Mphahlele said the department had given the school the target of 90% bachelor passes.
“We surpassed their expectations ,” she said.
Meanwhile, angry parents who had arrived at from Kliptown Primary School in Soweto on Tuesday with their children for their first day of school had to return home after finding there was no water supply or and no furniture.
The parents said they were summoned to meeting in November where the department promised that all that was wrong would be fixed and child-friendly by yesterday.
The matric class of 2024 achieved a 87.3% pass rate, the highest in the history of the country.
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