Game of Schools: A Three-Act Play

Learner performance in the South African school education system is under tight scrutiny as it is the lens through which the health of the system is judged. However, despite the challenges faced, the South African landscape is dotted with those schools that have produced outstanding learner performance. Hence, this study is prompted by the success of a public school that excels despite the barriers to teaching and learning. The study was foregrounded in a qualitative research methodology within a case study design and focused on one public school, Westeros Secondary School, a co-educational urban secondary school located in Newlands (an area designated for the Indian community during the apartheid era) KZN, South Africa. In seeking to find answers to this research project, the study focused on what are the factors that contribute to high learner performance. Purposive sampling was used. Data was produced via interviews with the participants (principal, ten teachers, five ex learners and two parents) document analysis, as well as observations of the various school activities. The literature reviewed focused on accountability, learner performance, leadership, education reforms and teaching as these aspects were the recurring themes that emerged in the literature on learner performance. Drawing on the various forms of capital (cultural, social, intellectual and symbolic), I argued that learner performance is inextricably linked to the school environment, leadership and teaching. Themes that emerged from the data were presented in an innovative rendition as dramatic license was implemented to render the story of learner performance in three acts. The overall key finding of this study was the fetish of excellence.