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The Learning Centre was established in response to the need for quality tutoring in LEAP’s partner communities. The improvement in enrolled learners’ results and subject understanding has resulted in the number of learners involved in the programme growing from 100 learners being enrolled in the programme in 2004 to 2,500 learners from 98 schools in 2008. The Learning Centre is staffed by a diverse group of tutors drawn from LEAP School alumni, current LEAP School learners, South African professionals, and African refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Teachers from township schools are encouraged to attend these lessons to create a real opportunity for interaction between teachers in order to share ideas, resources and skills. The LEAP Learning Centre aims to: - Increase the teacher / learner contact time per week in the critical field of Maths in the latter stages of primary school and the early stages of high school. - Instil in learners an enthusiasm for Maths. - Improve the Maths knowledge and skill level of learners in the communities served by The Learning Centre. - Strengthen LEAP’s partner schools in townships from which LEAP draws its learners. - Provide a means of assessing Maths potential in learners for inclusion in the full time senior secondary school program offered by LEAP. - Incorporate a wide body of African refugees into a teaching role, who might otherwise not be teaching in South Africa. - Provide a tangible expression of LEAP School’s commitment to community transformation and upliftment. - Provide an avenue for volunteers to engage in community education programmes   
The centre consists of the following two programmes: 1. A community based maths tutoring programme focussing on grades 7 and 8. 2. Saturday classes providing tuition in Maths, Science, Biology, Accounting and Business Economics for grades 8 to 12. Community Based Maths Tutoring Programme The Learning Centre runs the Maths programme in partner community schools from Monday to Friday from 14h00 to15h00 each afternoon at 15 sites within Cape Town’s township communities (Langa, Kuilsriver, Gugulethu, Crossroads).
Saturday Classes The Saturday classes take place each Saturday morning during term time at the LEAP Science and Maths School premises, Mupine Complex, as well as at our centres located in Langa, Gugulethu. Kuilsriver, and Crossroads. An average of 600 Grade 7, 8 and 9 learners attend the Saturday morning maths classes at our township centres. More than 1,000 learners travel from the communities surrounding LEAP Science and Maths School to attend the classes at the Mupine Complex. To accommodate the increasing number of learners that come to the Saturday mornings classes, the learners are divided according to grade, subject areas and their level of need. The classes are split between extension learners and struggling learners with different focuses in each class. The sessions are 90 minutes long and are run throughout the day from 08h30 until 13h00. “I benefitted a lot from attending the Saturday morning classes at The Learning Centre. I discovered new ways of solving problems and learnt some things in Maths that I did not do at my school. I passed my final exams with a C symbol.” Miriam Ngoie, Grade 12 learner from Islamia College |
