Our latest visit to Isaac Newton School was a good opportunity to reflect on the huge impact the school has made on its community since it was founded in 2005.
In 2023 the school is riding high in the district rankings: 4th of 36 schools at O-level and top school out of 21 at A-level.
Flowering time at Isaac Newton
This year’s performance was inconceivable when the school opened in 2005. At that time:
The school had a single building with 2 classrooms and a staffroom. It had earth floors, and bare, unpainted brick walls. The land had been cleared, the bricks hand-made and the building constructed by volunteers.
The first hall was under construction. Newly made bricks were drying in stacks.
The area’s population was decimated by HIV/AIDS. Many parents of working age had died. Gravestones still stand in fields among the crops evidencing the catastrophe.
Empty houses, whose occupants had died, were falling into disrepair. Gardens, footpaths and even roads were becoming overgrown. Crop yields and incomes were at rock bottom. Even the coffee crop had been hit by a wilt disease.
The first parent’s meeting was attended by grandparents who had become sole carers of their grandchildren. They appeared tired and demoralised.
Today the situation has been transformed. Isaac Newton is a fine school which educates village children from nursery to A-level.
Moses Kamya, the Headteacher and Director of Mustard Seed Humanist School, has worked hard to create a pleasant green environment for learning and living. The Humanist Schools’ Tree Planting Project has created stands and borders of mature trees.
Numbers of students are returning to pre-Covid levels. Children and teachers are pleased to be back. First year results in the Primary Leaving Examinations showed a marked improvement since the former Muslim school came under the wing of Mustard Seed. There has been a marked improvement in A-level science grades. Out of class activities have also restarted such as boys’ and girls’ football, scouting, debates and music.
Moses is proud of the impact of the school on the lives of individuals and the community. I met one old boy, Cornerious Matege, who is now Head of English. He explained that he was a former student of the school and had fond memories of being presented with a dictionary as his prize for winning the Reading for Pleasure competition. This proved life changing. The competition encouraged him to become a regular reader, to go to Teacher Training College and then to return as a teacher of English. He was delighted to be back in school helping Moses to convey Humanist values to a new generation of children. Currently 25% of teachers were former students who had a strong desire to put something back into the school.
The UHST scholarship programme has made a huge difference. Scholarships offer an educational lifeline to bright children from challenging circumstances. Supported children do well and boost the school’s overall performance at O-level. Scholarship fees also provide a regular income, which underwrites teachers’ pay and funds educational resources that benefit every child in the school.
Mustard Seed School is well-respected and plays an important part in the Busota community.
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.
Posted: March 30, 2023 by Steve Hurd
Two decades of progress at Isaac Newton
Our latest visit to Isaac Newton School was a good opportunity to reflect on the huge impact the school has made on its community since it was founded in 2005.
In 2023 the school is riding high in the district rankings: 4th of 36 schools at O-level and top school out of 21 at A-level.
This year’s performance was inconceivable when the school opened in 2005. At that time:
Today the situation has been transformed. Isaac Newton is a fine school which educates village children from nursery to A-level.
Read the full Isaac Newton Report.
Posted: March 30, 2023 by Steve Hurd
Mustard Seed plays its part
Moses Kamya, the Headteacher and Director of Mustard Seed Humanist School, has worked hard to create a pleasant green environment for learning and living. The Humanist Schools’ Tree Planting Project has created stands and borders of mature trees.
Numbers of students are returning to pre-Covid levels. Children and teachers are pleased to be back. First year results in the Primary Leaving Examinations showed a marked improvement since the former Muslim school came under the wing of Mustard Seed. There has been a marked improvement in A-level science grades. Out of class activities have also restarted such as boys’ and girls’ football, scouting, debates and music.
Moses is proud of the impact of the school on the lives of individuals and the community. I met one old boy, Cornerious Matege, who is now Head of English. He explained that he was a former student of the school and had fond memories of being presented with a dictionary as his prize for winning the Reading for Pleasure competition. This proved life changing. The competition encouraged him to become a regular reader, to go to Teacher Training College and then to return as a teacher of English. He was delighted to be back in school helping Moses to convey Humanist values to a new generation of children. Currently 25% of teachers were former students who had a strong desire to put something back into the school.
The UHST scholarship programme has made a huge difference. Scholarships offer an educational lifeline to bright children from challenging circumstances. Supported children do well and boost the school’s overall performance at O-level. Scholarship fees also provide a regular income, which underwrites teachers’ pay and funds educational resources that benefit every child in the school.
Mustard Seed School is well-respected and plays an important part in the Busota community.
Download the full Mustard Seed Report.
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.