Interview with headteacher from SOS Primary School Kakiri, Uganda

Hilary Atkins: We are talking to Mr Wanyama, who is the school principal of the SOS Primary and Secondary School - and nursery - in Kakiri. Ok, can you tell me how many pupils you have here?

Joseph Wanyama: Pupils, at nursery school we have 90, at the primary 250, and at secondary school there 131.

Hilary Atkins: What's your capacity?

Joseph Wanyama: The capacity of the oldest school is 475, and we are now around 470.

Hilary Atkins: How is the school performing?

Joseph Wanyama: The results are good, we perform well, we get a large percentage of children in division one, and the rest we get into division two. So, like, uhm, the statistics, maybe for last year, we got 15 in division one out of 27 in the primary school.

Hilary Atkins: What does division one mean exactly?

Joseph Wanyama: Those who have got the fast grade, you know...

Hilary Atkins: ...the top grade...

Joseph Wanyama: ...the top, you know - our rating system is according to the Ugandan National Examination Board - those who have scored very well are those who will be in division one.

Hilary Atkins: Ok.

Joseph Wanyama: Then those who are in the second will be in division two. Well, division one, division two, division three, division four...

Hilary Atkins: Are these are for external examinations?

Joseph Wanyama: Those are national examinations set by the Uganda National Examination Board. They sit those examinations at the end of the year, usually in November. Primary 7 is the top class in the primary section, in the second it is senior 4. So, primary 7 sit the exams at the end of the year, and also senior 4 sit at the end of the year those external examinations. And, the last we get is division 2...out of division one, two, three, four...up to division six. So, the last we get is division 4, uhm, division 2.

Hilary Atkins: So, you did well in the primary level national exams and the school takes children up to S4, senior 4.

Joseph Wanyama: ...that's O-level...

Hilary Atkins: O-level being the first national exam at senior level. You don't do A-level?

Joseph Wanyama: A-level we do not have, but we are just at proposal stage over establishing the advanced level.

Hilary Atkins: So, where do your pupils go to take advanced level at the moment?

Joseph Wanyama: Our children after here, after the senior 4, they go to other schools. Yeah, there are schools in Kampala. Some of the schools around here - which are not really good quality - but, that's where some of the children end up - they haven't got our standard, but, of course, as we haven't got advanced level, they go to schools they can afford.

Hilary Atkins: And your O-level success rate - how is that? Is it a good success rate?

Joseph Wanyama: The success rate is good as well, the worst is division two, in most cases.

Hilary Atkins: So most pupils pass. How many O-levels do they take?

Joseph Wanyama: The number of students?

Hilary Atkins: No, the number of exams.

Joseph Wanyama: The maximum number of subjects is ten, the minimum eight, but the majority of our children are advised to take ten, because depending on how they score, these ordinary level results also count for admission to university. At advanced level they work out their points at ordinary level and they add their scores to what they scored at advanced level for admission. So, the more subjects, the more advantage the student is at.

Hilary Atkins: And non-academic subjects? Music, drama, art?

Joseph Wanyama: Yes, those are also there. We have music which they do here. Then, physical education...yeah, they do those here...and we have painting here...

Hilary Atkins: For girls and boys?

Joseph Wanyama: No boys.

Hilary Atkins: What do the boys do?

Joseph Wanyama: They are doing the music, dance and the other(s) (subjects)...

Hilary Atkins: ..and they're not doing carpentry...

Joseph Wanyama: No, we don't have that.

Hilary Atkins: How popular is the school with the community? Is it well-integrated?

Joseph Wanyama: It's well-integrated, there is a lot of demand from the local community for our school. As you know, about 90 % of our children come from the community. And we just limit, because we cannot take them in in large numbers, most of those children are sitting here because of a sponsorship. But the demand from the community to access our education is very high.

Hilary Atkins: How many SOS children do you have here?

Joseph Wanyama: The SOS children in the preliminary rate is about 100, and in the secondary about 20.

Hilary Atkins: Ok, good, well, thank you. Let's go to the ground now.