A few years ago, Fourways High School launched a Student Development Programme to assist learners who came from disadvantaged backgrounds.
On 18 to 19 March this year, the school hosted a Humans Rights Civvies Day to raise funds that would be channelled towards this programme. Marketing manager at the school, Jodi Selesnick said, “The pupils and staff were permitted to wear civvies, pay R10 and each pupil per grade was asked to kindly donate two items of non-perishable food items to facilitate our Student Development Programme whereby we feed families in need in our school.”
She added that Fourways was an affluent area and Fourways High School was a fee-paying school, and was regarded as a high-performing school that offered a top education. “The general perception is that the learners who attend our school are from middle-class backgrounds and do not face severe economic challenges. “This is not the case, especially after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic that had a negative impact on the economy. Many parents and guardians qualify for a fee exception due to their economic circumstances.”
Selesnick explained that due to the fact that the school was technically a fee-paying school, they did not receive any grants or funding to address the socio-economic barriers of the learners. She concluded, “It is also challenging for us to access corporate sponsorship or funding as the perception is that we are a school who does not need financial support to address the socio-economic barriers of some of our learners.”
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