Congratulations to Christel House

The Western Cape Education Department would like to congratulate Christel House, an independent school in the Western Cape, for being named as a Top 10 shortlist for the World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity.

The school is situated in Ottery and serves learners from disadvantaged communities.

Attached, please see the statement issued by T4 Education on their nomination.

We are extremely proud of their achievement and are honoured to have them join our list of previous Top Ten and Top Three finalists in the World Best School Prize, namely:

• 2022: Pinelands-North Primary School – achieved Top Three position in the category “Overcoming Adversity”.
• 2022: West End Primary School – achieved Top Ten position in the category “Overcoming Adversity”.
• 2023: Rustenburg Girls High School – achieved a Top Ten position in the  category for ‘Supporting Healthy Lives’.

Western Cape Minister of Education, David Maynier, said of the school’s achievement:

“Congratulations to Christel House for being selected as one of the top 10 finalists in the World’s Best Schools competition for 2024! The school is doing excellent work supporting learners from poor communities to receive a world-class education, and it is fitting that they have been selected as a finalist in the “Overcoming Adversity” category. We wish them all the best in the next phase of the competition, and we are holding thumbs for the announcement of the top 3 in September!”

The Top 3 finalists for each of the five World’s Best School Prizes - for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives - will be announced later this year. After a public advisory vote, the winner of each Prize will be chosen based on rigorous criteria by a Judging Academy comprising distinguished leaders across the globe including academics, educators, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, government, civil society, and the private sector.

All 50 shortlisted schools across the five Prizes will share their best practices through toolkits that showcase their “secret sauce” to innovative approaches and step-by-step instructions on how others can replicate their methods to help improve education everywhere.

We are delighted that Christel House will have the opportunity to showcase their ‘best practice’ to the world and are rooting for them to make the finals!