The introduction of the Elective Programme in 2018 has given Durban High School boys the opportunity to develop vital skills that are not necessarily addressed in the normal school curriculum. These skills include critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking. It has also given boys the opportunity to spend additional time on sports and cultural activities they want to excel in.
Electives were launched for the first time at DHS in February this year, and like all new programmes we did have some teething problems. However, these problems have been overshadowed by the fantastic opportunities this programme has given to our boys.
The Elective programme has introduced a long list of new courses, these include:
AP Maths
Ashoka Entrepreneurship
Autocad
Community Engagement
Drawing Skills
Film/Photography
First Aid
French
Game Programming
Music Academy
Performing Arts Academy
Portuguese
Rocket Building
School Enterprise Challenge
Science Club
Sports Academies
Toastmasters
All these courses exposed our boys to new ways of learning and any many case provided certification for their efforts. As a result of the Elective Programme a record number of boys completed courses like AP Maths, Autocad, Toastmasters and First Aid. While other boys were exposed to completely new language courses and computer programming.
The level of our sport has certainly improved over the past year, with results against our main rivals improving dramatically. This is a direct result of the academy programmes.
The Music Academy and the Performing Arts Academy have also been instrumental in the school being able to put on a school production for the first time in many years.
Our Entrepreneurial programme has also given our boys the opportunity to develop and run their own businesses. Both the Ashoka course and the School Enterprise Challenge and been hugely successful. Both groups of boys have won a number awards for their innovation and business plans. A special mention must be made of the three boys who were part of the School Enterprise Challenge. The businesses were required to submit business plans and annual reports. X2TION who is represented by Awande Ndlovu (Grade 10N) and Luyanda Koboka (Grade 10X) submitted the required and were shortlisted as nominees for a prize. Thereafter the boys were invited to attend the annual award event which was held at Ladysmith on Friday 19 October 2018. Sandile Masombuka (Grade 11) who represented the Power of 8 was amongst the invitees. The event was hosted by Teach A Man To Fish. They enjoyed a day of activities where they were taught how to develop sustainable businesses that wouldn’t harm the environment. Businesses were given the opportunity to showcase their business ideas or their final product. At the awarding ceremony, X2TION won the Most Innovative Business award and R3000,00.
In 2019 we will be expanding the Elective to include even more certified courses. We will focus on Technology Innovation as well as Leadership. We will also be introducing two more languages in Mandarin and German.
I would like to thank all our external partners, who have come on board this year and provided the boys of Durban High School with the unique opportunity to extend their learning and better prepare them for an ever changing world.
We look forward to the introduction of some exciting new electives in the New Year.
Bryan Adam
Head of Electives
