POLOKWANE – Walking around Mitchell House, one would usually find a sea of blue, but, for a few days, there were a distinct few green blazers walking around the premises.
Mitchell House welcomed PHS learners to their school and PHS welcomed Mitchell House learners for a school swop, where learners got to experience what it was like at each school.
With Mitchell House being an English school and PHS and afrikaans school, the language barrier would be a challenge so Review spoke to the PHS learners at Mitchell House to find out what their experience was like.
Nicole Basson says the amount of learners at Mitchell House are lot less than PHS. “My English has improved since we started here. The learners are quite helpful and willing to assist us with anything.”Sindy Sikgomo – “All my friends are at this school and because we stay in the same area, it was much easier for me to adapt. I think it’s impossible to fail when you’re a learner here because the teachers pay attention to each one of us individually. I also adapted very easily to English and I enjoyed the experience very much.”Surina Van Zyl found it easier to get around at Mitchell House as she says the school is much smaller than PHS. “The teachers have been very understanding when we do not understand our work and we made friends easily.”Tamelyn Laurence says Mitchell House is a very friendly school, and the teachers are very focused on the learners’ improvement. “I was also shocked to see how a few learners are here.”Danielle Beukes says she loved the fact that she was able to play soccer as it is not offered at PHS “I adapted to being taught in English very quickly and I also made new friends.”
Raeesa Sempe is a Caxton Award-winning Digital Editor with nine years’ experience in the industry. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand and started her journey as a community journalist for the Polokwane Review in 2015. She then became the online journalist for the Review in 2016 where she excelled in solidifying the Review’s digital footprint through Facebook lives, content creation and marketing campaigns. Raeesa then moved on to become the News Editor of the Bonus Review in 2019 and scooped up the Editorial Employee of the Year award in the same year. She is the current Digital Editor of the Polokwane Review-Observer, a position she takes pride in. Raeesa is married with one child and enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music and baking – when she has the time. “I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon." – Tom Stoppard
