SPARK Schools, a leading provider of affordable private education in South Africa, is adding three new high schools to their network.
Founded in 2013, SPARK Schools already has 19 schools across Gauteng and 1 in the Western Cape. When they opened their doors, there were 160 learners and 20 staff. Nine years later SPARK Schools is serving over 14 000 scholars who outperform their peers by at least one grade.
SPARK Schools innovative personalised learning model, enabled through a blended learning approach, globally competitive curriculum and focus on core values and social-emotional learning has seen the network rapidly emerge as a leading player in the South African education sector.
The newest additions – SPARK Rivonia High, SPARK Riversands High in Gauteng and SPARK Blue Downs High in Cape Town – will offer a further 800 family’s access to excellent, affordable education opportunities for their children.
Khomotjo Mashele, High School Product Manager at SPARK Schools says, “We are honored to continue to serve South African families by adding more high schools to our portfolio in Gauteng and the Western Cape. We are excited to welcome our new families into the SPARK Community to continue to create global citizens who will positively contribute to the African continent and the world. Nothing is fulfilling as seeing our current scholars graduate to high schools and staying in the SPARK family.”
Mashele says SPARK is deliberately positioned at the lower end of the cost curve in private education as it seeks to create a more inclusive education landscape and disrupt the accepted norm that private schools are only for an elite few.
“The potential is huge. There are more than 13 million school-going children in South Africa, and not enough middle to low-cost schools to serve them,” she says.
SPARK Schools is aligned to the Caps curriculum, but says Mashele, scholars explore topics beyond the Caps requirements through XC Projects and SPARK’s bespoke Character Quotient course.
“Character Quotient (CQ) intentionally builds and assesses character development in high school scholars. The course consists of mini workshops focusing on eight categories of the SPARK Schools Character Quotient framework of transferable skills.
“These include emotional literacy, adaptability and resilience competent communication, critical thinking, and systems thinking, and society shaper,” Mashele says.
She says the Character Quotient framework drives the social-emotional development of students and prepares them for tertiary studies and careers beyond.
Next year (2023) will see the first SPARK Schools matrics graduating, and Mashele says the transition model at SPARK high school exposes scholars to the world of work, plus giving them the skills to be problem solvers and critical thinkers.
“We believe that shaping our children to be well-rounded and responsible global citizens will ultimately spark change and drive our nation forward,” she says.
“As we grow, so does our opportunity to employ. Our educators are qualified professionals who receive 245 hours per year of professional development and coaching.” In addition to the 600-plus student vacancies, SPARK also needs 64 new teachers to populate their new schools.
