About Us
Background
Ekuphumleni was established in 1987 as a junior secondary school in Whittlesea in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, and expanded to become a high school in 1993.
During the first years Ekuphumleni did not perform well, in part due to the political unrest that was taking place in South Africa. Later mismanagement continued the trend of poor performance until Mr Lizwe Ngalo took over the reigns in 2006 as headmaster of the school.
At the time the school had 459 pupils and 16 teachers. Through the hard work of Mr Ngalo and his management team, the school slowly grew in strength, doubling the matric pass rate in the first year already.
Today Ekuphumleni is considered one of the top-performing schools in the district and in 2016 the top learner (with eight distinctions) of the entire district came from Ekuphumleni.
Due to these results, the enrolment has soared to over 1400 learners with 43 teachers employed.
Challenges
While the high enrolment indicates a thriving school, the grounds and facilities have not grown at the same rate and Ekuphumleni struggles with overcrowded classrooms and run-down facilities.
As a township school, Ekuphumleni also operates in an environment with further challenges: high crime levels and drugs pervade the streets; most students come from families that survive on a government grant and therefore cannot afford anything beyond the basics.
It is therefore the focus of Ekuphumleni to create an environment that allows their students to succeed despite these circumstances and achieve the high marks needed to go on to study further and break the poverty cycle that exists in Whittlesea.
Vision 2025
Through a series of improvement projects, Ekuphumleni wants to create a high school that can meet all the needs of their students and give them the well-rounded education they deserve. Read more about Vision 2025 here.
