LEAP Maths and Science School

Funded by the Shuttleworth Foundation, the LEAP Science and Maths School aims to tackle the acute shortage of skills in South Africa by enabling its students to gain access to tertiary study opportunities, to be successful in their chosen career paths and to develop as a socially responsible citizens.

Students at the LEAP school do this by graduating from the school with university exemption and specifically with science, maths and English on higher grade.

The LEAP school was established in late 2003 and accepted its first 72 students in 2004. It is situated in the Mupine College Building in Pinelands, Cape Town. The majority of the students are from the nearby Langa township.

Facilities at the school include classroom venues and a fully networked open-source computer laboratory installed by the Shuttleworth Foundation. Students and teachers at the school take full responsibility for day-to-day cleaning and maintenance of the facilities.

The school also offers valuable life orientation teaching which takes place for forty minutes every day and offers a range of social services including a teacher mentoring programme, teaching resource centre, teacher reclamation, student tutoring, support for unemployed parents, counseling,
community bridging, township links and community projects led by the school.

While the immediate focus of the school is to graduate individuals with university exemption on higher grade, the LEAP Science and Maths School carries a longer term objective of playing an active part in the transformation of disadvantaged communities in South Africa by acting as a node for sharing and engaging.