For almost 25 years Bergvliet High School has been supporting and building links between the school and the community through its Continuing Education Programme (CEP).
Every term hundreds of courses are offered at reasonable prices and covering a wide range of topics from general interest, topical issues, crafts and skills, painting and drawing, practical cooking, first aid, photography and computer skills. These courses are run in the evening on Monday to Thursday during the term between 7pm and 9pm with some courses being offered on Saturdays by popular demand.
Bergvliet High’s principal, Stephen Price, says some of the goals of the CEP are to provide a forum that will draw the community into the school and enable them to use their facilities at night.
“We aim to make our courses as accessible to as many people as possible by keeping the course fees affordable. The idea is to empower the unemployed by enabling them to learn the skills that would improve their chances of finding employment and also to provide work opportunities for the lecturers – with the emphasis on employing those residing in our community. We also want to promote and support busi-
nesses in the area and to create additional funds for the school,” he
says.
The CEP is divided into three sections with courses for the general community, for teachers and for pupils.
At the helm is CEP director, Katharine Miles, who has been co-ordinating the programme for more than 20 years. She has once again put together an impressive array of lecturers and courses at user-friendly
prices.
“So many local schools and businesses have found that their budgets have been able to stretch so much further as a result. The Matric Winter School in June/July and Grade 11 revision programme towards the end of the year have proven to be hugely popular with matrics and Grade 11 pupils from all over the community attending support lessons from teachers who are handpicked by Ms Miles. Subject specialists and teachers who are matric examiners and sub-examiners are recruited to present up-to-date information and subject support regarding the matric exams,” says Mr Price.
He says their programme for the second term is not to be missed and should be available on their website soon.
He says people should register for courses early as the demand is high and some have limits on class sizes. “I heartily recommend that you take the time to browse our prospectus and register soon. You will meet like-minded people. You will learn new things.
“You will find your creative spirit. You will grow in your job. You will have enormous fun doing it too,” says Mr Price.
For more information, contact
Ms Miles at the Continuing Education Programme office on 021 713 7999, or email her at kmiles@bhs.org.za, or visit www.bhs.org.za
