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Staff Reporter
John Orr Engineering School of Specialisation on Saturday, 2 March 2024, was transformed into a hive of activity as thousands of learners from Gauteng’s Schools of Specialisation (SoS) gathered for the second Annual SoS Festival.
The Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) 35 SoS turned the school’s rugby field into a giant exhibition centre where learners showcased innovation and creativity in various fields, including dancing, engineering, crafts, technology, sports and media, Speaking at the gathering, Gauteng Education and Youth Development MEC, Matome Chiloane, said he was impressed by the immense skills and talent on display.
“The purpose of the GDE SoS Festival is to bring all the Schools of Specialisation together to celebrate the knowledge and skills of our learners. Learners have been displaying their unique talents and innovations in each discipline.”
“The aim is to attract industry partners who are willing to partner with Schools of Specialisation. Industry partners are encouraged to provide long-term support such as job shadowing, bursaries, industry experiences and post-career parting for our learners, ultimately these learners will feed back into the economy of South Africa,” he said.
SoS go beyond the standard curriculum for public ordinary schools, enabling learners to specialise in Maths, Science & ICT; Engineering; Commerce & Entrepreneurship; Sport; and Performing & Creative Arts.
In addition to bringing these brilliant learners together to showcase their knowledge and excellence through innovative projects within these respective disciplines, the SOS Festival also provides learners a platform to share in their ideas and concepts, essentially perpetuating the work done by the GDE and its partners in establishing these schools.
“Through these schools, the intention is to produce learners who have accumulated a well of technical skills; and who have skills in leadership, good citizenship and entrepreneurship; and a range of soft skills such as interpersonal relations, among others.
“The programme is concerned with post-matric career pathing for learners, and with the resources, facilities and 2 support required to prepare learners for work and for life beyond school,” the MEC added.
This year’s exhibitions were exciting, showing the growing stature of the SOS Festival to schools.
Letsibogo Girls Maths, Science and ICT School of Specialisation with a focus on media and communication showcased their radio station LG Radio, with the young learners broadcasting live from the event.
Others, such as St Barnabas College and Moholi High, exhibited their exciting work they have been doing in terms of technology. The international award-winning Soshanguve Automotive School of Specialisation displayed their latest and greatest creation, an electric car powered by two Lithium-ion Phosphate batteries with 48 volts each that drive a range of 70-80 km at minimum speed 114km/h and a maximum speed of 342km/h.
Edward Phatudi Maths, Science & ICT School of Specialisation showcased a generator that operates on water, unlike a conventional generator that operates on diesel.
More excellence was shown in Commerce & Entrepreneurship where Oosrand School of Specialisation exhibited their own farmed brand of chilli peppers, while Kwa-Thema Skills School of Specialisation and Pace School of Specialisation had entire beauty salons where guests could get their hair done, enjoy a range of massages as well as receive manicures and pedicures.
There were many more marvelous exhibitions and displays of sheer genius by our learners within their respective disciplines.
All of these were a testament to the success of the SoS programme.
“This is what we want to achieve with the SoS programme. The SoS programme marks a great achievement for advancing education, more so in Gauteng, the economic hub of our country. Ever since being conceptualised, it has made great strides and has seen great improvements,” added the MEC.
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