Is scholastic excellence achievable?

Let me declare upfront that, at St John’s College in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, where I studied in the 1970s, academic excellence was a singular objective that was pursued vigorously by teachers and pupils. St John’s was a prestigious black institution and only the most academically talented pupils had the benefit of being admitted. It was a jewel of black education in the Cape and beyond.

During and after apartheid, the school sector has been negatively affected by many societal challenges, and schools seem to be sites at which such challenges must be addressed. Consequently, they carry a burden that goes far beyond the delivery of academic excellence.

These challenges include poverty, unprecedented degeneration of societal moral values, pervasive