Empower 1300 kids through sport & education

Start of Year Update

As we begin the year, our spaces are once again filled with noise, movement, questions, and possibility. Across our ECD centres, afterschool programme, and Digibus classrooms, around 1,400 children are now registered and taking part in learning and sport each week. It is a privilege to start another year alongside so many young people who show up with resilience, curiosity, and determination, often in the face of real challenge.

Our latest academic assessments show steady improvement, which we are encouraged by. At the same time, we remain honest about where we are: overall academic standards are still well below where they need to be. This reality reflects the broader education context our children are growing up in, and it sharpens our focus. If children are going to move beyond the limits imposed by inequality, education has to be strengthened early and consistently.

While rugby continues to be the drawcard that brings children into our programmes, academics are what will ultimately open doors. This year, we are intentionally shifting more energy, resources, and leadership into academic development.

We are particularly excited to be expanding our SEED programme, which runs in our afterschool programme as a structured follow-on from the ESL work done in our ECD centres. SEED supports children through Maths, key curriculum topics (including Life Orientation), and mediation, helping them develop both academic skills and the social and emotional tools needed to cope with school demands. We have already seen strong gains in confidence, engagement, and learning outcomes, and we are excited to formally embed SEED into our core curriculum this year..

We are also pleased to welcome a new Head of Academics, a key appointment as we work to improve curriculum planning, assessment, and academic support across all programmes. If South Africa is ever going to experience greater equality, we need to invest far more deeply in education, and this role reflects that commitment.

Next week also marks the start of our Digibus programme for a new cohort of Grade 4 learners. For many, this will be their first experience learning on laptops. Grade 4 is a demanding transition year, as children move from learning in their mother tongue to learning in English, while navigating a heavier workload that includes content subjects and formal assessments. The Digibus supports children through this critical phase, helping them build academic confidence, digital literacy, and the skills needed to stay engaged at school.

Looking ahead, we are hoping to raise funds to take our Under 13s on a rugby tour in June. Tours provide more than sport. They expose children to new environments, build independence and teamwork, and reward commitment to both academics and training. For many of our children, it would be their first opportunity to travel beyond their immediate community.

Please also take a moment to view our end-of-year newsletter, linked below, which captures the energy and range of activities from a packed and inspiring final term of 2025.

At a time when the world can feel unsettled, your support continues to make a very real difference in the lives of children who need consistency, care, and opportunity. Thank you for your generosity, your belief in this work, and for walking this journey with us.

Links:

• Newsletter
• VIDEO

This term has been filled with energy, growth, and visible change across every part of our work. Below is a snapshot of how your support is translating into opportunity and sometimes even transformation for our children.

Academic and Digital Growth

In English literacy, our learners improved by an average of 184 Lexile points over the term. This is well above typical benchmarks of 50 to 100 points in a school year, or 150 in a particularly strong intervention year.

In Maths, children using the Matific programme also showed encouraging progress. Assessments indicate strong improvement across all cohorts, particularly among the Grade 4s, who mastered core numeracy concepts once their phonics foundation in Reading Eggs improved. The connection between literacy and numeracy is becoming clearer, with better reading leading directly to better problem-solving in Maths.

All students also progressed through our coding syllabus. The Under 13s built their own websites to represent their Market Day businesses, giving them the chance to apply digital skills to real-world ventures. The link between coding and entrepreneurship has been powerful, showing children that what they learn can be used to shape their own futures.

Market Day and Entrepreneurship

Our annual Young Entrepreneur Market Day remains a highlight of the year. Under 13 learners ran their own micro-businesses, applying skills from workshops led by Capitec mentors in marketing, pricing, negotiation and logistics. We also held a special derby rugby match against WPPS as part of Market Day, turning the playing field into a marketplace and giving children real paying customers. Profits were paid out as Shoprite vouchers so children could either reinvest in inventory or use them personally, reinforcing the concepts of reinvestment, ownership and agency.

Rugby and Sport

Our teams played matches across age groups from Under 9 to Under 13 against Bishops, Kirstenhof, Sweet Valley, Selborne College, Wetpups, Wynberg Boys and SACS. A highlight of the season was our Under 12 squad winning the Goodwood Heritage Day 7s tournament. Each match is more than a game, it is a training ground for resilience, discipline, teamwork and confidence.

Arts, Music and Safe Spaces

Our music and art programme continues to build a creative and safe space for children who may not want to play rugby but still need belonging and expression. We also organised field trips, including visits to the aquarium and the Museum of Illusions, which broaden horizons, spark curiosity and feed our children’s sense of possibility.

Community and Operations

We hosted the 24 Hour Cycle Challenge, raising over R1 million, of which around R750,000 was profit. Staff development remained a priority, with training in social media, health and safety, and deeper learning around holistic child development.

Looking Ahead

Next week I will be in London for the ActiveOps Capacity25 Conference. If you are in London and interested in hearing more about VUSA’s work, I would love to connect over a coffee. Thanks to the ActiveOps “Tries for Lives” initiative, every try in the 2024 Cape Town 7s contributed to funding for VUSA, helping us build a new computer lab in our hub.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Our children are not waiting for opportunity, they are building it. With your support, we are making that possible one match, one workshop and one business idea at a time.

Kind regards

Nikki and the VUSA Team

Links:

• Newsletters