61 60 The Chronicle 2021 Centenary Edition Academic Review ACADEMIC PROGRAMME AND ACHIEVEMENTS The decision by the Department of Basic Education to postpone the reopening of schools by two weeks due to concerns over rocketing COVID-19 cases meant that the year started with online teaching. It was especially sad not to be able to interact with our new Grade 8 pupils for the first weeks of school. The greatest challenge was assisting new pupils and staff adapt to the online learning platform, installing the required software, navigating SharePoint and Teams, and getting to know each other without being together. Videos and documentation, with invaluable support from the IT department resulted in a successful introduction to the platform. Despite the challenges posed, the boys of the College excelled at various Olympiads and competitions. Details are provided in the subject articles which follow. INSTRUCTION AND PUPIL ENGAGEMENT With daily hybrid lessons, teachers and pupils oscillated between in-person and online instruction throughout the year. Pupils engaged in online and in-person lessons through Teams and could access content on the SharePoint pages. In addition, teachers ensured that all the content for the year was covered adequately. The pupils also enjoyed access to workbooks, notes and video lessons online. ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING Cycle tests and examinations were scheduled differently to accommodate the anticipated disruptions to the academic programme. Missed cycle tests could be written and submitted online the following Monday. To complete more content in Term 2, the Grade 12 pupils were the only Grade to write the midyear examinations. The Grade 8 to 11 pupils wrote the August examinations instead. Pupils in quarantine were allowed to write examinations on campus and in a separate venue. Trial and final examinations accommodated pupils who tested positive for COVID-19 in a different venue, with dedicated invigilators. Academic reports were produced for all four terms. TEACHING FACULTY The training of staff was ongoing, where there was focus on Transformation and Diversity, Academic Inclusion and aspects of technology. Motivated by the need to incorporate technology into their teaching, teachers were innovative in producing material and resources that were visually appealing and engaging. This brought innovation to instruction, assignments and projects, assessments, and academic support. For example, workbooks were revised to include QR codes and hyperlinks to video tutorials. Support lessons included links to live lessons, and pupils could connect from their dorm rooms and homes or review the videos at leisure. Many boys dealt with losses and illness and experienced mental and physical fatigue of the online and hybrid teaching and were looking forward to some downtime by the time the end of the year came. Despite a challenging 20 months of developing new material and teaching classes online, Kearsney teachers demonstrated professionalism and tenacity and I applaud them for an excellent job done in the most trying of circumstances. Mrs Vanessa Govender Deputy – Head of Academics Pass rate 100% Bachelor's Degree Pass 97% Total number of candidates 126 Number of Subject Distinctions 254 Number of results in top 1% in a subject 18 See below Commendable Achievement 2 Marnus du Toit and Benjamin Robertson Outstanding Achievement 1 Benjamin Oellermann 2021 IEB NSC RESULTS TOP 1% OF IEB CANDIDATES PER SUBJECT • 97 % Bachelor Degree (Matric exemption) pass rate (Bachelor Degree pass rate for all IEB schools of 89,2%); • 20% of the Class achieved an A average • 42% of Mathematics candidates achieved distinctions (IEB schools’ distinction rate: 23,9%); Three boys placed in the top 1% in the country; Average Maths mark for Kearsney boys was 74%. • 42% of Physical Sciences boys achieved distinctions (IEB schools’ distinction rate: 18,4%). Five boys in the top 1% (top 52 candidates) in SA. 42% of the Kearsney boys wrote Physical Sciences and the average mark was 72%, 10 % higher than the IEB average; • Eleventh consecutive year that Kearsney’s Maths and Science distinction rates have been approx. double those of all IEB schools; • 59% of Accounting candidates achieved distinctions (IEB schools’ distinction rate: 26,6%). Kearsney average mark: 78%; • 56% of Dramatic Arts candidates achieved distinctions (IEB distinction rate: 48%). Ave. Kearsney mark of 80,7%. Two boys in the top 1% (top 15) candidates in the country; • 42% of History candidates achieved distinctions (IEB schools’ distinction rate: 25.3%); • 63% of Engineering Graphics and Design boys achieved distinctions (IEB schools’ distinction rate: 29,3%). Three boys placed in the top 1% (top 15 candidates) in SA. Average mark for Kearsney boys of 79,6%; • 21% of Kearsney pupils achieved 4 or more distinctions; • 254 Distinctions achieved at an average of 2 distinctions per boy. SOME KEARSNEY HIGHLIGHTS PHYSICAL SCIENCE MATHEMATICS ENGLISH (Home Lang) HISTORY Benjamin Oellermann Marnus du Toit Benjamin Oellermann Benjamin Oellermann Benjamin Robertson Ethan Barrett Matthew Jacobs Matthew Jacobs Ben Robertson BUSINESS STUDIES Alex Thorpe DRAMATIC ARTS Daniel de Kock Marnus du Toit ENGINEERING GRAPHICS & DESIGN Matthew Foord Benjamin Robertson Rahul Paul LIFE ORIENTATION Connor Soulsby Benjamin Robertson Tyler Gray Outstanding academic results were achieved by the Class of 2021 despite the two years of disruption and we commend for their fantastic response to the challenges presented.
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