Our Reading Academy provides underprivileged Zambian children with an educational programme which is not offered by other schools in Zambia. It lasts for two-years and focuses on literacy. Children who enrol at Shine Zambia Reading Academy are completely illiterate or very poor at reading at the start. By maintaining small class sizes and compressing our teaching, we aim for our pupils to graduate from the programme with the level of literacy expected at Zambian Grade 4 level. This means we deliver 4 years’ education within 2 years.
Other points to note about learning at Shine:
- Pupils are between 8 and 12 years old when they enrol
- Pupils pay no fees whatsoever at the school and receive free exercise books
- Every child receives a meal at the school each day
- Each class has only 15-20 pupils – this allows us to provide a high quality of education
- Literacy makes up > 50% of the timetable. This includes teaching children how to ‘sound out’ letters and words in English using phonics, and lots of reading practice
- Pupils also learn Maths alongside literacy and, in Year 2 of the programme, Science, Chinyanja (local language) and Social & Development Studies
- Although teachers are not government qualified, they have been trained in specialist literacy teaching by volunteer teachers and experts from USA and UK
- After 2 years, pupils take their final exams. If they pass, they ‘graduate’ from the school. Shine then arranges places for them in nearby mainstream schools. They go directly into Grade 5 or 6, depending on their level. Pupils who do not pass stay at Shine until they are good enough to survive and thrive in a formal Zambian school