One of Matabeleland South’s leading primary schools school has moved to reassure parents and guardians about its academic standing, saying it expects to maintain an 80 percent-plus pass rate, as it has over the past decade.
Authorities at Alan Redfern Primary School in Mangwe District credited the teaching staff for its high standards.
The staff, comprised of degree holders and diploma holders who are currently upgrading their qualifications, remains committed to sustaining the institution’s hgh performance levels.
Speaking during the school’s speech and prize-giving day—themed Striving to be champions in providing equitable, quality, inclusive and relevant heritage-based curriculum — the school head, Dumisani Ncube, emphasised that the children were in capable hands.
“I want to assure parents and guardians that their children are in the custody of competent and knowledgeable people,” Ncube said.
“The quality of our results is testament to that.
“For the past 10 years or so, the school has never recorded a pass rate below 80%.”
He praised the school’s excellence, noting that it surpasses the national pass rate.
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“The 2025 results are out and are at the district office; I could venture some predictions and speculations, but based on the statistical evidence, the pass rate won’t be below 80%,” he noted.
“Last year’s national pass rate stood at 49.01%.
“The pass rate of this school surpasses the national average.
“This indicates that academic standards are high, and the staff should be commended for that.”
Ncube highlighted a consistent trend of academic improvement and high achievement over the last eleven years.
Beginning with a solid pass rate of 82% in 2014, the school has maintained an upward trajectory, never falling below 80% in that period.
The results show strong performance, consistently hovering around the 90% mark since 2017.
The school achieved its peak in 2021 with an outstanding pass rate of 97%, and has sustained excellent results in subsequent years: 95.6% in 2022, 93.1% in 2023, and a strong 94.11% in 2024.
Ncube noted that the contemporary dance group, quiz, and ICT team won gold medals at a national-level competitions, adding to the school’s pride.
“The school continues to be a shining example in Mangwe through its academic performance and excellence in different sporting disciplines,” he said.
“Recently, our contemporary dance group, quiz, and ICT team represented us at the national level in Mutare and brought back gold medals.”
However, the school is addressing a rare dip in performance, following a 65% pass rate in one Grade 4 class, which is below the school’s historical minimum of 70%.
Leadership quickly ruled out exam difficulty, pointing out that other Grade 4 classes achieved scores in the 70s.
“This is not the culture of the school; it is a rare occurrence to have a class performing below 70%,” Ncube said, adding that such dips were often due to a combination of factors involving learners, teaching methodologies, administrative supervision, and parental support.
The school emphasises that learner performance is a collective responsibility.
“The parent cannot be spared in the failing of the child,” Ncube said.
“In fact, the parent is the major key player in the learner’s success... It is imperative, therefore, that each of us plays our role for the betterment of results.”
The event’s guest of honour, District Schools Inspector Danisa Nkomo, echoed thee same sentiments while elaborating on the Ministry’s evolving educational framework.
He highlighted that the school’s commitment to quality education aligns perfectly with the shift to the new Heritage-Based Curriculum (HBC), which is set to run until 2030.
The Inspector explained that the HBC is “an educational approach that centres on the heritage and experiences of a country,” designed to provide pupils with a background relevant to national resources and identities.
This shift fundamentally changes traditional roles.
“The role of the teacher is as a facilitator, a coach, a mentor, a co-learner, a researcher; we have moved away from the old style of teaching where the teacher was viewed as possessing all the knowledge,” he said.
The inspector stressed that true success extends beyond paper qualifications.
“The value of success is not in getting a paper qualification, but in applying knowledge and skills to overcome real challenges and exploit available opportunities; therefore, continue learning and learn how to learn beyond what you already know,” he said.
