New and expanded partnerships
We are extremely excited about the addition of several new partner schools, bringing our total network of partner schools to thirteen. We are grateful for our ongoing relationships with St John’s College, Roedean School, St Peter’s Prep School and Streetlight Schools all of whom continue to successfully host our full-time internship students. Our new school partners include four private schools and five public schools. The private schools are Redhill School, Kyalami and Beaulieu Preparatory Schools as well as Beaulieu College.
As part of our recent partnership with the Department of Basic Education and the Gauteng Department of Education, we have added five new public schools to our list of eight partner schools. These schools include Makhoarane Primary School, Nkone Maruping Primary School, Palesa Primary School, Princess Primary School and Vezokuhle Primary School, all from District 12 in Johannesburg West.
The process of continuously growing our network of partner schools encapsulates our ethos of excellence through collaboration, and assures our students participating in our teacher development programme of exposure to the best public and private schools. This practical experience throughout their studies prepares our teacher interns for a successful teaching career in which they can be confident and effective teachers across diverse school environments.
Our students ... our pride!
At the end of 2020, four of our students graduated, completing the Thuto Trust teacher development programme, together with the two-year Post Graduate Certificate Education (PGCE). They are the first Thuto Trust students to complete the two-year PGCE programme. (Two students graduated in 2018 and two more in 2019, completing a one-year PGCE as part of the Thuto Trust teacher development programme.) It is with great pleasure that we can announce that three of the four 2020 graduates have already been employed - two as teachers in the math and science department at Roedean School and one as a junior biochemistry lecturer at North West University. Two Thuto Trust PGCE interns will be completing the programme at the end of 2021, and eight B.Ed. interns will complete this year as well.
Thuto Trust is funding 57 students in 2021 - we aim to more than double the total number of students participating in our Teacher Development Programme in 2022. This year’s cohort includes 50 B.Ed., five PGCE and two honours students, all of whom have been placed at our partner schools for their full-time internship.
Teaching in a child's mother tongue is a challenge in a country such as South Africa with 11 official languages. However, research has proved many times that pupils learn best in their mother tongues.
