Townsend High continues to excel

Nobukhosi Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter

Townsend High School in Bulawayo is a girls’ only school that continues to blaze the academic trail by excelling at Ordinary and Advanced Level while producing well-rounded pupils each year.

The school has seen a significant increase in pass rates with the Ordinary Level examination results improving from 27,7 percent in 2022 to 39,41 percent in 2023 and from 79,17 percent to 95 percent for A-level.

Maxine Muchena was one of the top achievers at O-level, scoring 7A’s and 2B’s. The majority of the students who sat for the O-level examinations attained good grades across all subjects.

Advanced Level students also performed exceptionally well with Tinotendaishe Chigweshe scoring 17 points, Shumirai Mudara, Nontobeko Dube and Rufaro Mafurusa scoring 15 points, Loraine Phiri and Nikita Nyamayedenga scoring 14 points, Liyanda Mpofu scoring 13 points, Tatenda Mavengere, Grace Tsonzo, Beverly Mahlangu, Tatenda Shumba and Nokuzotha Mathobela scoring 12 points. Townsend High School head, Mrs Millicent Moyo said she was elated by the learners’ solid performance.

“I believe we have done very well because our pass rate has improved so much. The students really did us proud and we hope that this trend of passing does not end with them but will continue with more students to come,” she said.

“Since 2022, we have implemented monthly tests, those that perform well in the tests are given merit badges at assembly. Those who acquire three or more merits get to have tea with the head as an incentive. This has fostered the spirit of competition in students as they are all working extra hard to ensure that they earn merits and secure themselves a tea spot with the head.

“We also motivate our teachers to work extra hard by honouring them during our speech and prize giving day. A teacher gets a prize for every A grade that they produce and the department that attains a 100 percent pass rate also gets a prize. We started this a long way back and the teachers are motivated to work hard because for O-level its $US5 for every A grade and at A-level its $US10 for every A grade,” she said.

Mrs Moyo said the school days of prayer and the supervised studies they hold regularly with the students also contributed to their success.

“I believe the school days of prayer groomed the learners to be better students. We have seen that the prayers have moulded them as they are more positive now. We don’t want students to labour in vain, that is why we do everything we can to encourage and motivate them. On Mondays and Wednesdays, we also hold our supervised study times where students read quietly in their base rooms. These study times help the students develop a culture of reading so that they are well equipped and prepared for their examinations.”

Mrs Moyo said various strategies were in place to ensure that their students excel with flying colours

She said the school aims to attain a 100 percent pass rate this year.

“In 2024, we are hoping to go back to what we did in 2018 when we obtained high pass rates for both O and A-level. We are aiming higher and we will continue with our monthly test culture as well as acquire more resources that will be of great help to the students.”