Isaac Newton Humanist High School students excelled in the recently published examination results.
In Uganda Certificate in Education (UCE) O-level, the school ranked 4th out of 36 schools in Greater Masaka City District. In the Uganda Advanced Certificate in Education (UACE) A-level it did even better, becoming the top school out of 21 A-level schools in the district.
This is a remarkable leap forward. In the early days, the school rarely featured in the rankings. Peter Kisirinya, the school’s Director, attributes the improvement to:
A programme of staff development and stable staffing.
A rise in the quality of students enrolling, helped by the UHST scholarship programme which brings into the school bright children from challenging circumstances who have nevertheless gained the top grade in their Primary Leaving Examination (PLE)
Growth in the stock of books and learning resources (including computer-based ones) provided by UHST supporters.
A greater understanding of what the exams expect of students, gained by bringing in examiners to talk to teachers about marking criteria.
At O-level, 85 students entered for exams. 45% of them gained grade 1 across 7 subjects. This compares with an average of 12% across all Uganda schools. Another 45% managed grade 2. 8 students gained grade 3 and one grade 4. None failed.
52 students from the school entered for A-level exams, the highest ever. Over the years in the UK there has been steady grade inflation, but this is not so in Uganda where marking is harsh and A-grades are rare. The distribution of grades were:
There is an even distribution across the grades and no failures. Gaining 9 A-grades shows that teaching is broadly up to standard.
Derrick Makanga: Entrepreneurship A, Agriculture B, Luganda B
These two will be eligible for full government scholarships, as will another 4 or 5 students depending on which subjects they apply for.
Out of 3,199 schools teaching A-level in Uganda, Isaac Newton was:
44th in Physics, 46th in Agriculture and 183rd in ICT, which is commendable.
Sadly, girls were underrepresented in this cohort, making up only 19 of the 52. A-level students are aged between 18 and 22 and fully mature adults. By this time many girls are expected to be married and many, but far from all, families consider that investment in girls’ education beyond O-level is a waste. Fortunately, steadily these attitudes are changing.
Mustard Seed Humanist School had fewer students entering for A-level examinations, and they were a weaker cohort. There were just 5 boys and 5 girls. However, most of them gained grades sufficient to gain a place in university, teacher training college or in nursing, ancillary health professional or other vocational training. Gaining A-levels marks students out from others and enhances their life chances. Students and teachers in both schools are to be congratulated on their splendid achievement.
All other children in the Humanist Schools gained a creditable grade 2. Whereas 42% of primary children across Uganda gained lower grades 3, 4 or fail, none of the children in these new Humanist Primaries did.
Results in the new Humanist primary schools are quite remarkable.
It was Katumba Parents Humanist Primary School’s first year after being rebuilt with UHST funds on a drier and safer site. Decent buildings, higher staff morale from regular pay, and books to help children to learn, have generated outstanding results, which is even more remarkable in a remote, rural school whose community has been afflicted by floods, landslides low cocoa prices and receiving an unstoppable inflow of refugees from the Congo.
8 children (3 girls and 5 boys) gained grade 1, which has made them eligible to apply for a limited supply of UHST funded scholarships to attend a Humanist secondary school. The Ethical Society of St Louis raised funds for the 3 Katumba girls to move to Isaac Newton for their secondary schooling, and two UHST supporters provided an extra scholarship to enable the best performing boy to go to the school. Mustard Seed School allocated 3 of their UHST scholarships to Katumba boys. However, we have so far failed to find sponsors to provide scholarships for 5 other high-achieving children from Katumba, who wish to pursue their studies at one of the Humanist High Schools.
Maliba celebrating with her mother Joy Mutoro
Successful boys and girls at Katuma Parents Humanist Primary School
Mustard Seed Humanist Primary School had been run by a Muslim foundation up to the end of 2021, so has only operated as a Humanist School for less than a year. UHST has funded major renovation work at the school and provided books. After a short period as a Humanist school, 3 out of 14 children (21%) gained grade 1s, when none had done so in the former school. The school offers hope of a better education for future cohorts of children.
Isaac Newton Humanist Primary School showed the biggest turn around in fortunes. When running as an Evangelical Christian school up to 2021, school performance was poor and grade 1s unknown. In its first year as a Humanist School the site was given a major overhaul and books were bought for the school. Enrolment increased dramatically and Primary 7 children thrived. Of the 12 children entered for the PLE, 7 gained grade 1 (58%) and the remaining 5 gained good grade 2s.
All successful children from the Mustard Seed and Isaac Newton Humanist Primary Schools will be moving on to their respective high schools. Our hope is that they will continue their exciting life’s journey and become accomplished and free-thinking young people who can create a good life for themselves, for their families and for the wider community.
* At age 12 in Uganda, top primary children take a Primary Leaving Examination. This is a national exam taken by all primary leavers in Uganda. The exam has 4 pass grades (1 to 4) and fail.
Before the start of the new school year, staff at each of the Humanist Schools currently supported by UHST, came together for Humanist Ethos workshops. These convivial workshops reminded staff of the Humanist principles underpinning the schools and the implications for teaching, learning and general conduct.
Mustard Seed teachers take a break at their Humanist Ethos Workshop
Since Covid struck in February 2020 schooling has been disrupted. When the focus is on survival, it is easy to forget the longer-term aims of a school. Our plans to bring together representatives from all 15 Humanist schools in Uganda in a 3rd Humanist School Conference in January had to be postponed again. This time by an Ebola outbreak which closed schools and led to movement restrictions. Many schools had lost staff during Covid and new staff had to be recruited who knew nothing of Humanism and its implications for schooling.
At the workshop teachers were reminded of the Guidance not Violence approach to school behaviour management. Physical and verbal violence are not tolerated among students and staff in Humanist schools. Yet, teachers need to be made aware of alternative ways to ensure appropriate conduct. Each school operates a democratic system of consultation through class prefects, house representatives and a student-staff council. Grievances can be aired and dealt with through discussion, empathy and counselling. Each school has a Humanist Counsellor, who plays a pivotal role and parents and families are consulted in particularly difficult cases.
A fundamental aim of Humanist Schools is to empower children to become questioning and free-thinking individuals. This has implications for teaching and learning. The new Uganda national curriculum has brought a very welcome shift away from knowledge-based examinations, which encouraged learning by rôte. The new competency-based curriculum requires children to conduct enquiries in groups and to evaluate and synthesise information from different sources. This change fits in well with the Humanist Schools, which do their best to encourage children to be sceptical of received wisdom, to have a questioning approach, to make up their own minds in the light of the current state of knowledge and to be prepared to change their minds when contradictory evidence comes to light.
To support this approach, UHST is supporting teachers and learners by increasing book provision, creating Library & Information Centres and learning spaces, and expanding computer provision and access to the internet. The schools are set to become even more vibrant places as the new curriculum moves up the schools from Senior 1.
Posted: March 13, 2023 by Steve Hurd
Isaac Newton School excels in examinations
Isaac Newton Humanist High School students excelled in the recently published examination results.
In Uganda Certificate in Education (UCE) O-level, the school ranked 4th out of 36 schools in Greater Masaka City District. In the Uganda Advanced Certificate in Education (UACE) A-level it did even better, becoming the top school out of 21 A-level schools in the district.
This is a remarkable leap forward. In the early days, the school rarely featured in the rankings. Peter Kisirinya, the school’s Director, attributes the improvement to:
At O-level, 85 students entered for exams. 45% of them gained grade 1 across 7 subjects. This compares with an average of 12% across all Uganda schools. Another 45% managed grade 2. 8 students gained grade 3 and one grade 4. None failed.
52 students from the school entered for A-level exams, the highest ever. Over the years in the UK there has been steady grade inflation, but this is not so in Uganda where marking is harsh and A-grades are rare. The distribution of grades were:
There is an even distribution across the grades and no failures. Gaining 9 A-grades shows that teaching is broadly up to standard.
Performance of the top two students:
Dalmatius Mumbere: Maths A, Physics B, Chemistry B, Computers subsidiary grade 2
Derrick Makanga: Entrepreneurship A, Agriculture B, Luganda B
These two will be eligible for full government scholarships, as will another 4 or 5 students depending on which subjects they apply for.
Out of 3,199 schools teaching A-level in Uganda, Isaac Newton was:
44th in Physics, 46th in Agriculture and 183rd in ICT, which is commendable.
Sadly, girls were underrepresented in this cohort, making up only 19 of the 52. A-level students are aged between 18 and 22 and fully mature adults. By this time many girls are expected to be married and many, but far from all, families consider that investment in girls’ education beyond O-level is a waste. Fortunately, steadily these attitudes are changing.
Mustard Seed Humanist School had fewer students entering for A-level examinations, and they were a weaker cohort. There were just 5 boys and 5 girls. However, most of them gained grades sufficient to gain a place in university, teacher training college or in nursing, ancillary health professional or other vocational training. Gaining A-levels marks students out from others and enhances their life chances. Students and teachers in both schools are to be congratulated on their splendid achievement.
Posted: February 22, 2023 by Steve Hurd
New Humanist Primary Schools make a promising start
All other children in the Humanist Schools gained a creditable grade 2. Whereas 42% of primary children across Uganda gained lower grades 3, 4 or fail, none of the children in these new Humanist Primaries did.
Results in the new Humanist primary schools are quite remarkable.
It was Katumba Parents Humanist Primary School’s first year after being rebuilt with UHST funds on a drier and safer site. Decent buildings, higher staff morale from regular pay, and books to help children to learn, have generated outstanding results, which is even more remarkable in a remote, rural school whose community has been afflicted by floods, landslides low cocoa prices and receiving an unstoppable inflow of refugees from the Congo.
8 children (3 girls and 5 boys) gained grade 1, which has made them eligible to apply for a limited supply of UHST funded scholarships to attend a Humanist secondary school. The Ethical Society of St Louis raised funds for the 3 Katumba girls to move to Isaac Newton for their secondary schooling, and two UHST supporters provided an extra scholarship to enable the best performing boy to go to the school. Mustard Seed School allocated 3 of their UHST scholarships to Katumba boys. However, we have so far failed to find sponsors to provide scholarships for 5 other high-achieving children from Katumba, who wish to pursue their studies at one of the Humanist High Schools.
Mustard Seed Humanist Primary School had been run by a Muslim foundation up to the end of 2021, so has only operated as a Humanist School for less than a year. UHST has funded major renovation work at the school and provided books. After a short period as a Humanist school, 3 out of 14 children (21%) gained grade 1s, when none had done so in the former school. The school offers hope of a better education for future cohorts of children.
Isaac Newton Humanist Primary School showed the biggest turn around in fortunes. When running as an Evangelical Christian school up to 2021, school performance was poor and grade 1s unknown. In its first year as a Humanist School the site was given a major overhaul and books were bought for the school. Enrolment increased dramatically and Primary 7 children thrived. Of the 12 children entered for the PLE, 7 gained grade 1 (58%) and the remaining 5 gained good grade 2s.
All successful children from the Mustard Seed and Isaac Newton Humanist Primary Schools will be moving on to their respective high schools. Our hope is that they will continue their exciting life’s journey and become accomplished and free-thinking young people who can create a good life for themselves, for their families and for the wider community.
* At age 12 in Uganda, top primary children take a Primary Leaving Examination. This is a national exam taken by all primary leavers in Uganda. The exam has 4 pass grades (1 to 4) and fail.
Posted: February 22, 2023 by Steve Hurd
Schools refresh Humanist Vision
Before the start of the new school year, staff at each of the Humanist Schools currently supported by UHST, came together for Humanist Ethos workshops. These convivial workshops reminded staff of the Humanist principles underpinning the schools and the implications for teaching, learning and general conduct.
Since Covid struck in February 2020 schooling has been disrupted. When the focus is on survival, it is easy to forget the longer-term aims of a school. Our plans to bring together representatives from all 15 Humanist schools in Uganda in a 3rd Humanist School Conference in January had to be postponed again. This time by an Ebola outbreak which closed schools and led to movement restrictions. Many schools had lost staff during Covid and new staff had to be recruited who knew nothing of Humanism and its implications for schooling.
At the workshop teachers were reminded of the Guidance not Violence approach to school behaviour management. Physical and verbal violence are not tolerated among students and staff in Humanist schools. Yet, teachers need to be made aware of alternative ways to ensure appropriate conduct. Each school operates a democratic system of consultation through class prefects, house representatives and a student-staff council. Grievances can be aired and dealt with through discussion, empathy and counselling. Each school has a Humanist Counsellor, who plays a pivotal role and parents and families are consulted in particularly difficult cases.
A fundamental aim of Humanist Schools is to empower children to become questioning and free-thinking individuals. This has implications for teaching and learning. The new Uganda national curriculum has brought a very welcome shift away from knowledge-based examinations, which encouraged learning by rôte. The new competency-based curriculum requires children to conduct enquiries in groups and to evaluate and synthesise information from different sources. This change fits in well with the Humanist Schools, which do their best to encourage children to be sceptical of received wisdom, to have a questioning approach, to make up their own minds in the light of the current state of knowledge and to be prepared to change their minds when contradictory evidence comes to light.
To support this approach, UHST is supporting teachers and learners by increasing book provision, creating Library & Information Centres and learning spaces, and expanding computer provision and access to the internet. The schools are set to become even more vibrant places as the new curriculum moves up the schools from Senior 1.