The Student Sponsorship Programme (SSP) assists academically distinguished learners to realise their potential during their high school years with scholarships and bursaries. To find the country’s brightest kids, SSP searches schools in the major townships. The focus is on giving learners from low-income families a great education to improve their chances of a bright and prosperous future.
The learners have to be academically distinguished to be considered. Once selected, they are placed in the top high schools in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. More than 850 scholars have directly benefitted from this programme since its inception in 2000, with over 550 alumni.
The SSP partners with top high schools that obtain high matric pass rates and university passes in the four provinces. The programme commits to funding the learners for five years of high school by matching each child with either an individual or a corporate sponsor. Many of the learners who have been part of the programme have passed matric and are now studying at tertiary institutions.
The organisation’s vision is to produce leaders who are committed to creating a society that is non-racist, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous. In addition to the quality education and enrichment provided by the partner schools, SSP supports its learners by assigning a student programme officer to them and finding a corporate mentor for each pupil.
The SSP also runs a parallel programme that focuses on leadership development, study skills, life skills, career guidance and assistance with applications to tertiary institutions and bursaries for further studies. The mentors also help the learners cope and adjust in their new schooling environment and guide them throughout high school. They run leadership development programmes that offer learners regular compulsory leadership workshops.
This approach has produced an incomparable track record for SSP, with 94% of their scholars completing the programme (matric pass) and 91% going on to pursue a tertiary qualification. Learners who wish to apply for the programme must be in Grade 6 and not more than 12 years old. The learners must have attained an overall average of 70% or more in Grade 5. They must achieve a 70% minimum grade for Mathematics, English and Science.
Their families must earn less than R200 000 in combined annual incomes. In addition, the applicants must show leadership potential and be community-service orientated. Successful applicants will be placed in a year-long bridging programme that seeks to improve their abilities in English, Mathematics, Science and Technology. The scholar development programme consists of Saturday classes, academic camps and personal development workshops.
Source: South Africa Yearbook 2018/2019
