Rekgutlile Primary School joined the Imperial intervention programme in 2009, when the focus was initially on developing basic mathematics and language skills at foundation level, to prepare learners for the senior grades.
With their buy-in, teachers were issued with the necessary resources to assist them to teach these skills. But with large class sizes, and learners sharing chairs and tables in classrooms with no space for teachers to move about, the teaching aids added little value.
It was not possible to extend classroom floor space; it was decided instead to provide assistance to teachers on the teaching of large class numbers. External service providers were engaged to provide practical classroom assistance. Classrooms were upgraded with appropriate learning materials, and experiments with the rearrangement of furniture helped with movement within the classrooms.
This early success was so impressive that it persuaded the trustees to consider establishing a library resource centre at Rekgutlile Primary School. The school, however, had no place for such a centre and the Trust could not afford the capital outlay required to build a structure; the solution lay in the conversion of four storerooms into one large space, and a start-up library with a modest 2000 books plus teaching aids opened its doors in 2011.
The learners were happy, the teachers were enthusiastic, and the school management and parent community were engaged. Because of this, the trustees decided later that year to pull out all stops and to raise the funds to erect a stage and steel structure covering for hosting assemblies and outdoor events.
By 2013, the numbers of learners needing access to the library grew to such a level, that the current library became overcrowded and an impediment. Funds were earmarked by the trustees to construct a new library and resource centre. The accelerated reading programme was also introduced at this time.
