The Fasken Time Cricket Festival returns to St David’s Marist Inanda this September, bringing together some of South Africa’s leading school cricket programmes for a unique pre-season test designed to challenge young cricketers both on and off the field. Hosted by St David’s Marist Inanda and supported by title sponsor Fasken, the 2026 festival will…
The Temba Bavuma Foundation has partnered with KFC to expand the FHS Lunchbox Project, a nutrition initiative run by the Frida Hartley Shelter (FHS) that currently provides around 200 meals a day to vulnerable schoolchildren in Yeoville. FHS has run the Lunchbox Project for many years. The Temba Bavuma Foundation is now taking on responsibility…
Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile, today continued the Department’s intensified school safety interventions through South African Police Service-led search and seizure operations, bringing the total number of schools searched across the province to 23. On Wednesday, 2 September 2026, MEC Maile joined searches that were conducted at six schools,…
Pirates is cruising! By KOPANO MONAHENG When the football world seemed to be turning its back on Orlando Pirates forward Yanela Mbuthuma, one man continued to believe in the young attacker. That man was Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, who appeared to know that the boy would eventually turn the corner and start banging in goals…
MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile, today officially launched the Olympia Park Vocational and Occupational School of Specialisation in Springs, marking Gauteng’s 41st School of Specialisation and a significant milestone in expanding access to vocational, occupational and skills-based education. The launch represents more than the opening of another School of Specialisation….
Olympia Park was established in January 1958 as a flagship LSEN school serving learners with Mild Intellectual Disabilities (MID) and has a long history of supporting learners from underserved communities. The school premises are situated on Transnet grounds that were historically used for the training of Transnet learnerships. Since 2019, Olympia Park has undergone significant…
Olympia Park currently has 764 learners, supported by 61 teachers and 15 general assistants, administrative and specialised staff. The school has also demonstrated strong academic performance at Grade 12 level. Its matric pass rate improved from 83% in 2022 to 91.6% in 2023, before achieving 100% in both 2024 and 2025. These results complement the…
A defining feature of Olympia Park is its extensive practical training infrastructure. The school has 22 workshops, comprising four Motor Mechanics workshops, three Plumbing workshops, three Welding and Sheet Metal workshops, five Agriculture Studies workshops, two Food Production workshops, two Sewing workshops, and dedicated facilities for Consumer Studies, Hairdressing, and Nail and Beauty training. Additional…
The launch comes at a time when South Africa continues to confront a significant mismatch between education and labour-market requirements. Approximately 30.3% of workers are employed in occupations that do not match the field of their highest educational qualification, while the 2024 National List of Occupations in High Demand identifies 350 occupations in which employers…
Learners at Olympia Park can exit the school having completed between four and six additional SETA-accredited courses. These include Fire Fighting, Working at Heights, Fall Arrest, Scaffold Erection, General Health and Safety, Power Tool Safety, Office Administration, Piggery and Mixed Farming. Significantly, 2026 marks the enrolment of Olympia Park’s first fully SETA-accredited learner cohort. The…
