Zimpapers Logo

Laurel Murangaridzirayi,[email protected]

AMHLOPHE High School in Bulawayo’s Pumula suburb yesterday unveiled their brand-new school bus and also recognised outstanding learners for their academic and extracurricular achievements throughout the year.

The school becomes the first in Khami district to have a school bus which will greatly benefit pupils and staff.

The guest of honour at the event was former Khami District Schools Inspector, Ms Jane Ndebele. She urged pupils to exhibit enthusiasm in their academic and extracurricular pursuits.

“The prize-giving day serves to show this aggressive drive in that ever since the Covid-19 pandemic there have been challenges in terms of schools achieving their strategic planning. The only way we can rise and soar together is by picking up from where we left and energetically move forward,” she said.She highlighted the significance of human resources in achieving academic excellence.

“Human resources are at the forefront of channelling other resources towards our vision of soaring to the top of academic excellence, united and purposed I’m sure we can be able to not only meet our lofty goals but also become the national standard for others to emulate,” she said

Ms Thokozile Tshabalala, the headmistress of Amhlophe High School, proudly celebrated the achievements of the students, underlining the school’s commitment to nurturing excellence in academics, sports, arts and culture.

“Today we are here to celebrate the achievements of members of what I regard as my family. These boys and girls that we celebrate today have excelled academically, in sports, arts and culture, striving against challenges large and small to become the best. Nelson Mandela once declared that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” and as such we strive as a school to provide the best edducation to our pupils,” she said.

“As the school theme says ‘We rise’, it suggests that the school is ever open to improving standards especially the O-level pass rate. If you take a look around, you will without doubt see us working towards improving the beautiful and bountiful garden in our endeavour to ensure our learners at both O-level and A-level become more competitive in the national Zimsec examinations,” said Ms Tshabalala.
She said the school’s target was to increase the number of pupils passing O-level by two percent every year.

Amhlope High Prize and Speech and Bus Commissioning 1

“We recognise that we have not yet realised our academic goals but we’re working on improving every year. We started from zero and we’ve been aiming to improve by two percent every year. We’re committed to reaching the standards we want,” said Ms Tshabalala.

She said the acquisition of the bus was a demonstration of the school’s commitment to providing a conducive learning environment for pupils and staff.

“Today we are happy as a school to announce that we have, as promised, bought a luxury bus to transport learners and staff as we move from event to event, activity to activity. This unveiling ceremony is in line with our promise to you to provide learners with an environment and resources conducive for growth and development. I could go on and on listing our initiatives and endeavours,” said Ms Tshabalala.

The school also offers extracurricular activities including cooking, baking, interior design as well as fashion and design to help students and community members become self-sufficient.