Talented matrics get prepped for finals

Some 68 Grade 12 learners from 12 schools in Gauteng and their parents and guardians gathered at Wits University recently for the annual Targeting Talent Family Workshop. 

This hand-picked group of learners from various schools in the province have all shown academic promise and have been participating in the Targeting Talent Programme (TTP) for the past three years. 

Now in matric, they face their biggest challenge yet with the end-year exams taking place in November and the workshop was aimed at giving parents and learners some handy advice to become a top-performer. 

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Yunus Ballim told the learners that intellect alone is not enough, but that a learner's performance can be enhanced by good lifestyle choices. Click here to listen to Ballim’s advice. 

TTP is an initiative by the Wits Student Equity and Talent Management Unit, aims to increase the academic, social and psychological preparation of academically talented learners from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds for admission to and success at South African selective universities. 

Learners are recruited to be part of the programme from Grade 10 and are nurtured for three years to give them the opportunity to excel and prepare for tertiary education. 

Zena Richards, Director: Student Equity and Talent Management Unit, says these are learner-centred programmes that are operated by universities and target individual learners rather than classrooms or schools.

“Their function is not to impact on a school’s existing curriculum or teaching practices, but rather to supplement and extend a student’s weekday curricular and extra-curricular experiences,” says Richards. 

While the basis of the programme is science and mathematics, it is designed to be a psycho-social-education intervention with a holistic development focus. 

Listen how TTP has helped Lethuthando Sithole from St Matthews Secondary School and Chandre Abels from Fred Norman Secondary School.