The Gem Soccer League gives children from care homes across Nelson Mandela Bay a chance to play football. (Photo: Full Stop Communications) In response to South Africa’s high school dropout rate, a non-profit organisation in Nelson Mandela Bay is working to prepare learners for the transition from primary school to high school – a critical stage where learners often fall between the cracks.
The Gem Project, which began in 2015 as a soup kitchen initiative, has since expanded its work to focus on youth development and education, responding to concerns that a significant number of learners fail to complete their schooling.
According to the Department of Basic Education’s 2025 National Senior Certificate Examination Report, about a third of young people do not complete 12 years of education. Data from the department also shows that only 49% of learners who were in Grade 10 in 2023 progressed to Grade 12 by 2025.
For Gem Project programme coordinator and former teacher Keith Brandt, these figures highlight a worrying reality.
“You see these kids standing at traffic lights and you think, ‘Why aren’t they in school?’ ” Brandt said.
“They are 12, 13, 14 years old. Our aim as an organisation is to change that.”
One of the organisation’s key responses is its Finding Your Feet programme, which focuses on Grade 7 learners and aims to mentally prepare them for the expectations and challenges of high school.
The programme runs in more than 20 primary schools across Nelson Mandela Bay, including schools in Walmer, Seaview, Gelvandale, Jacksonville and Zwide. Each year, members of the organisation’s community development team visit schools in May and August, reaching about 2,400 learners.
Teachers who have seen the programme in action say it fills an important gap in preparing learners for the next phase of their schooling.
One of the deputy principals of Triomf Primary School in Bethelsdorp, Edward Louis, said the programme had been running at the school for the past two years, with plans already in place for another round of sessions later this year.
“All our Grade 7 learners participate in it,” Louis said, adding that the programme had become a regular feature in the school’s calendar.
While the long-term impact of the initiative will become fully visible only once learners progress through high school, Louis said the content of the sessions already appeared to provide meaningful guidance for pupils preparing for the transition.
“The real impact would only be seen in high school,” he said. “But the topics they are covering with the Grade 7s include how to adapt, how to problem-solve and how to behave in a changing environment.”
Louis said that although schools attempted to prepare learners for the next phase of their schooling, teachers often had limited time to focus specifically on the transition, because of academic demands.
“As much as primary school and Grade 7 teachers would like to prepare our children for high school, we have to concentrate on finishing our annual teaching plan,” he said.
“Conversations about high school and what learners can expect do happen in class, but often incidentally rather than in a structured way because of those pressures.”
Danielle Seloane, a Grade 7 teacher at Machiu Primary School in Salt Lake, said the feedback from learners who participated in the sessions had been overwhelmingly positive.
Teachers are not present during the sessions, which allows learners to engage openly with the facilitators.
/file/attachments/orphans/Photo_1_773975.jpg "The Gem Project is tackling South Africa’s school dropout rate through its youth-focused programmes. (Photo: Full Stop Communications)")
Seloane said that while schools encouraged learners and parents early in the year to apply for high school placements, there was often limited time later to discuss learners’ fears and expectations about the transition.
“We push learners and parents in the first term to apply for high school early. It is only much later in the year that we get a chance to talk about their anxieties, the challenges they probably are going to have to face,” she said.
Seloane said the programme gave learners a foundation that teachers could build on afterwards.
“As teachers, we just build on the foundation that is laid for the learners in the programme. This programme has a positive impact for any school. I am for any workshop that is for the betterment of the children.”
Seloane said former pupils often returned to visit the school and share their experiences of high school life.
“A lot of the former learners pop by and are clearly very excited about the school that they are at,” she said.
“They may have at the beginning been very apprehensive about it.”
While many learners initially feel nervous about the move, she said most adapt well once they settle in.
“What is also good about high school these days is that they give children orientation to get integrated into their new schools,” she said.
“The children that come say hello are very excited about high school. They like it there, besides the additional workload.”
Brandt said the organisation’s work also extended beyond learners who were still in school. The Gem Project runs skills development programmes for young people who may already have dropped out, helping them prepare for employment.
These sessions include guidance on writing CVs and preparing for job interviews. The organisation also partners with companies that consider programme participants for opportunities, while several service providers offer learnerships and internships.
Brandt believes these skills are also needed by many young people who complete matric, but still struggle to find their way after school.
“You see all these matriculants rejoicing when they pass, but the next year they’re sitting at home because they have no idea what to do next,” he said.
“They don’t even have the skills to apply for university. This is where we are lacking in our current education system.”
Beyond education programmes, the organisation continues to run seven soup kitchens across the metro and has introduced food-garden projects to support communities. DM