Spark to open 3 new high schools

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The newest additions – Spark Rivonia High, Spark Riversands High in Gauteng and Spark Blue Downs High in Cape Town – will offer 800 families access to excellent, affordable education opportunities for their children.

Khomotjo Mashele, High School product manager at Spark Schools says, “We are honored to continue to serve South African families by adding more high schools to our portfolio in Gauteng and the Western Cape. We are excited to welcome our new families into the Spark Community to continue to create global citizens who will positively contribute to the African continent and the world. Nothing is as fulfilling as seeing our current scholars graduate to high schools and staying in the Spark family.”

Mashele says Spark is deliberately positioned at the lower end of the cost curve in private education as it seeks to create a more inclusive education landscape and disrupt the accepted norm that private schools are only for an elite few.

“The potential is huge. There are more than 13 million school-going children in South Africa, and not enough middle to low-cost schools to serve them,” she says.

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Character Quotient course

Spark Schools is aligned to the Caps curriculum but, says Mashele, scholars explore topics beyond the Caps requirements through XC Projects and Spark’s bespoke Character Quotient course.

“Character Quotient (CQ) intentionally builds and assesses character development in high school scholars. The course consists of mini workshops focusing on eight categories of the Spark Schools Character Quotient framework of transferable skills.

“These include emotional literacy, adaptability and resilience competent communication, critical thinking, and systems thinking, and society shaper,” Mashele says.

She says the Character Quotient framework drives the social-emotional development of students and prepares them for tertiary studies and careers beyond.

“We believe that shaping our children to be well-rounded and responsible global citizens will ultimately spark change and drive our nation forward,” she says.

“As we grow, so does our opportunity to employ. Our educators are qualified professionals who receive 245 hours per year of professional development and coaching.” In addition to the 600-plus student vacancies, Spark also needs 64 new teachers to populate their new schools.