The Department of Statistics at Rhodes University held a Winter School for 60 Grade 12 Mathematics learners from Ntsika, Mary Waters, Khutliso Daniels, and Nombulelo schools. The Winter School was aimed at preparing these students for their final examinations by revising some key topics and working through past exam papers. Although most of the topics had already been covered by their schools and only required revision, Finance, growth and decay, Probability, and Statistics had not yet been covered this year. For these topics, the learners were taught the content from the ground up and were provided with several examples to help them grasp the key concepts.
At the beginning of the week, the students were provided a pack containing a notebook, pens, and printed handouts of the past five year’s examination papers. Every day consisted of four sessions that ran for between an hour and an hour and a half each. Between these sessions the learners where given a break for tea, lunch, or to simply stretch their legs. This also gave them an opportunity to explore the beautiful Rhodes University campus. The sessions were taught and facilitated by Lecturers (Prof. Lizanne Raubenheimer, Amy Langston, and Sisipho Hamlomo) and Master’s students (Anele Sikhakhane, Aphelele Matshaya, Stanley Mbiva, Tamlyn Lahoud) from the Department of Statistics. Tagen De Wet (Honour’s student) and Solethu Sibanda (third year student) also assisted in the smooth running of the week. This week would not have been possible without the Community Engagement Office who provided all the necessary catering, printing, and packs for the learners.