Everyone was on tenterhooks at Kanungu Humanist Primary School as they waited to receive their first ever Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results. They need not have worried as 81.8% of the children gained either a Division 1 or a Division 2 grade[1], which help in progress to secondary school and to obtain jobs in the formal sector of Uganda’s economy. As we can see from the photograph above, the children were jubilant and they and their teachers deserve the highest praise.
As we can see from the table, all the Humanist Schools performed far better than the national average of 57.7% gaining Division 1 or 2. The full results are in the table at the end.
Isaac Newton and Mustard Seed primary schools were created as recently as 2021. In their former incarnation as Evangelical Christian and Muslim foundations respectively, Division 1 grades were almost unknown. Yet after becoming a Humanist school, the top Division 1 grade was gained by 52.4 of children Isaac Newton and 30.4% at Mustard Seed primaries (compared with only 12% nationally. Eagle’s View School, poorly resourced and using temporary classrooms made from corrugated sheets, had 100% of its children gaining Division 1 or 2.
Similar results were obtained in the remote mountain village of Katumba, where UHST supporters have built an entirely new school and equipped it with books and computers.
The very success of the Humanist primary schools is creating a challenge for UHST. We have been trying to provide scholarships to enable children from poorer homes who gain Division 1 in PLE to progress to a Humanist high school. So many this year have achieved such grades that we will have to disappoint many of them.
If you would like to help then we are seeking to find an extra 10 scholarships to enable all those children who are eligible from the Humanist primary schools to proceed. Details of how to set up a scholarship can be found here.
Here is the full breakdown of results.
[1] PLE has 4 pass divisions and a lower unclassified one. Division 1 is the highest grade.
UHST Trustees have approved our first major infrastructure investment at Kasese Humanist Schools. We have agreed to help Robert Bwambale by funding the restructuring and refurbishment of the boys’ and girls’ dormitories at Municipal Humanist High School. The dormitories each sleep up to 25 students and the improvements will enable the school to attract fee paying boarders from further afield. Their availability will give those children who gain grade 1 in their primary leaving examinations at Katumba and Kanungu Humanist Schools the additional option of continuing their education in a Humanist high school in Kasese, which is closer to home.
The plan is to divide the two dormitories into family rooms, each with 4 double bunks to accommodate 8 children. Each room will have ceiling to keep down noise and to inhibit the spread of fire and diseases like malaria. General repairs will be carried out including improvements in walls and floors and repainting. Additional toilets and wash rooms will be constructed so that children will no longer need to wander across the school site in the middle of the night. Fire extinguishers and alarms will be fitted to improve fire safety.
Work will begin immediately and the aim is to have it compelted for the start of term in February.
The 2024 school year in Uganda begins on Monday February 5th. Between now and then, during the long school vacation, is the perfect time to repair and build.
The Lily van Haelen Hostel, the first girls’ dormitory at Isaac Newton High School, is well over 10 years old. Refurbishment was meant to start a year ago, but we had insufficient funds to pay for it, so work has been repeatedly postponed. Although funds are still tight, there can be no further delay. Work began last week to modernise the building. The main modification is to install ceilings in each room to reduce the transmission of noise and of diseases such as malaria. Repairs will also be made to broken windows, plasterwork and floors, before the dormitories are given a lick of new paint.
The new Isaac Newton Primary School has been bursting at the seams with extra children, who were attracted when it changed from being an Evangelical Christian to a Humanist School. Isaac Newton Humanist School is known for being a happy school where children are safe and do well academically. Primary parents asked Peter Kisirinya, the Isaac Newton Humanist School Director, to bring these attributes to the failed evangelical school which was not liked due to its adherence to rote learning and the use of violence to impose harsh discipline.
Since becoming a Humanist School enrolment has increased from 40 to 250 children. The number of children has now outgrown the facilities. Peter’s chosen solution is to move out the top junior classes, P5, P6 and P7, which will give the nursery and infant children with more space. A few months ago, Peter’s mother sadly died, but she left to the school a piece of land close to the primary school that is perfect for the construction of a junior annex. We received a very generous offer from a UHST supporter to provide the funds to build a 3-classroom Junior Annex. As we can see from the pictures, work began on this a couple of weeks ago and Peter is hoping to have the new classrooms ready for the start of the new school year.
During 2024, in order to bring the primary school up to the required standards, we will be seeking to raise funds for a school hall, staffrooms and to reorganise the old site to add a decent library and computer room and to create play space for the little children.
Posted: January 31, 2024 by Steve Hurd
Jubilation in Humanist Primary Schools
Everyone was on tenterhooks at Kanungu Humanist Primary School as they waited to receive their first ever Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results. They need not have worried as 81.8% of the children gained either a Division 1 or a Division 2 grade[1], which help in progress to secondary school and to obtain jobs in the formal sector of Uganda’s economy. As we can see from the photograph above, the children were jubilant and they and their teachers deserve the highest praise.
As we can see from the table, all the Humanist Schools performed far better than the national average of 57.7% gaining Division 1 or 2. The full results are in the table at the end.
Isaac Newton and Mustard Seed primary schools were created as recently as 2021. In their former incarnation as Evangelical Christian and Muslim foundations respectively, Division 1 grades were almost unknown. Yet after becoming a Humanist school, the top Division 1 grade was gained by 52.4 of children Isaac Newton and 30.4% at Mustard Seed primaries (compared with only 12% nationally. Eagle’s View School, poorly resourced and using temporary classrooms made from corrugated sheets, had 100% of its children gaining Division 1 or 2.
Similar results were obtained in the remote mountain village of Katumba, where UHST supporters have built an entirely new school and equipped it with books and computers.
The very success of the Humanist primary schools is creating a challenge for UHST. We have been trying to provide scholarships to enable children from poorer homes who gain Division 1 in PLE to progress to a Humanist high school. So many this year have achieved such grades that we will have to disappoint many of them.
If you would like to help then we are seeking to find an extra 10 scholarships to enable all those children who are eligible from the Humanist primary schools to proceed. Details of how to set up a scholarship can be found here.
Here is the full breakdown of results.
[1] PLE has 4 pass divisions and a lower unclassified one. Division 1 is the highest grade.
Posted: January 9, 2024 by Steve Hurd
Improving conditions for Kasese Boarders
UHST Trustees have approved our first major infrastructure investment at Kasese Humanist Schools. We have agreed to help Robert Bwambale by funding the restructuring and refurbishment of the boys’ and girls’ dormitories at Municipal Humanist High School. The dormitories each sleep up to 25 students and the improvements will enable the school to attract fee paying boarders from further afield. Their availability will give those children who gain grade 1 in their primary leaving examinations at Katumba and Kanungu Humanist Schools the additional option of continuing their education in a Humanist high school in Kasese, which is closer to home.
The plan is to divide the two dormitories into family rooms, each with 4 double bunks to accommodate 8 children. Each room will have ceiling to keep down noise and to inhibit the spread of fire and diseases like malaria. General repairs will be carried out including improvements in walls and floors and repainting. Additional toilets and wash rooms will be constructed so that children will no longer need to wander across the school site in the middle of the night. Fire extinguishers and alarms will be fitted to improve fire safety.
Work will begin immediately and the aim is to have it compelted for the start of term in February.
Posted: December 16, 2023 by Steve Hurd
Isaac Newton Schools prepare for 2024
The 2024 school year in Uganda begins on Monday February 5th. Between now and then, during the long school vacation, is the perfect time to repair and build.
The Lily van Haelen Hostel, the first girls’ dormitory at Isaac Newton High School, is well over 10 years old. Refurbishment was meant to start a year ago, but we had insufficient funds to pay for it, so work has been repeatedly postponed. Although funds are still tight, there can be no further delay. Work began last week to modernise the building. The main modification is to install ceilings in each room to reduce the transmission of noise and of diseases such as malaria. Repairs will also be made to broken windows, plasterwork and floors, before the dormitories are given a lick of new paint.
The new Isaac Newton Primary School has been bursting at the seams with extra children, who were attracted when it changed from being an Evangelical Christian to a Humanist School. Isaac Newton Humanist School is known for being a happy school where children are safe and do well academically. Primary parents asked Peter Kisirinya, the Isaac Newton Humanist School Director, to bring these attributes to the failed evangelical school which was not liked due to its adherence to rote learning and the use of violence to impose harsh discipline.
Since becoming a Humanist School enrolment has increased from 40 to 250 children. The number of children has now outgrown the facilities. Peter’s chosen solution is to move out the top junior classes, P5, P6 and P7, which will give the nursery and infant children with more space. A few months ago, Peter’s mother sadly died, but she left to the school a piece of land close to the primary school that is perfect for the construction of a junior annex. We received a very generous offer from a UHST supporter to provide the funds to build a 3-classroom Junior Annex. As we can see from the pictures, work began on this a couple of weeks ago and Peter is hoping to have the new classrooms ready for the start of the new school year.
During 2024, in order to bring the primary school up to the required standards, we will be seeking to raise funds for a school hall, staffrooms and to reorganise the old site to add a decent library and computer room and to create play space for the little children.