• South African online school wins international award, expands to US, UAE

Media release

South African online school wins international award, expands to US, UAE

21 September 2020

Pretoria-based online school Think Digital Academy has scooped The Virtual School of the Year category in the 2020/21 international Corporate Livewire Prestige Awards, run from the United Kingdom.

The Corporate Livewire Prestige Awards recognise small and medium-sized businesses “that have proven to be the best in their market” over the past 12 months. All shortlisted companies are asked to support their nomination with evidence of their work, positive feedback from clients, information on previous accreditations and recognition, and highlights of the most outstanding parts of their business.

The judging panel base their decisions on areas such as service excellence, quality of the product/service provided, innovative practices, value, ethical or sustainable methods of working, and consistency in performance. The winners are those who can best demonstrate their strengths in these areas.

In a statement following the awards, Think Digital Academy chief executive officer Janessa Leita – a prominent campaigner for virtual learning in South Africa – said the 2020/21 award was particularly important because it came at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic proved that online learning was the future of education.

“This award is very special to all of us at Think Digital Academy because it comes at a critical epoch, not only in education, but our whole lives in totality. Many years before the COVID-19 pandemic, and throughout the current outbreak, we have been providing a state of the art learning environment where learners, from wherever they are geographically, are taught through online sessions by our highly qualified staff complement,” she said.

“We provide the CAPS [national Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement] and British international curricula in an integrated, engaging, and effective way to our rising number of learners. Our aim is to produce young adults who are innovative, creative, and independent in their thinking, who have courage, perseverance, and resilience, and who believe in themselves and their potential.”

The name “Think Digital” was derived from a strong belief that thinking was one of the most important things every child should be encouraged to do, she said.

“We have so much information at our finger tips, but we need to learn how to think creatively in order to use this information to plan, design, and innovate for anything new.”

Because of the growing popularity of online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Think Digital Academy was now expanding to the United States and the United Arab Emirates, Leita said.

Education activist Hendrick Makaneta said the COVID-19 pandemic, which had closed all physical schooling in South Africa for a few months, had caught the country unprepared, but the lessons learned from this were priceless.

“The awarding of the award to a South African school is great news to all of us in the terrain of education. This signals the beginning of a path towards greater performance as we grapple with the demands of the fourth industrial revolution.

“The COVID-19 pandemic caught us unprepared and has exposed the gaps that exist between private and public schooling.

“If anything, government should work around the clock to close these visible gaps and ensure that the African child is not left behind. It should be clear at this point that government alone will not be able to resolve the challenges that are faced primarily by rural and township schools,” he said.

Makaneta appealed to the private sector in South Africa to come on board and assist in the process of bringing virtual learning to all communities. Economic problems and high data costs were often cited as the major impediments to online learning in South Africa. Corruption in government also reared its head in the roll-out of developmental projects.

“So far, the private sector is still lagging behind with an exception of a few companies here and there who sporadically run projects aimed at uplifting education. The biggest and central question that must be answered is whether government will do enough to rid itself of corruption, given the recent uproar from society in relation to how tenders are awarded,” Makaneta said.

Published in VOCFMSouth African online school wins international award, expands to US, UAE

There’s more to explore

If you would like to learn more about us, please feel free to make use of the extra resources that we have created about online schooling just for you.


Reviews

THINK DIGITAL ACADEMY

Customer Reviews

Sarabibi Varachia

I love that there is an option of tutor support, and that it can be done at my own pace, the free 14 day trial gives a good idea of the course before signing up.

Janine Gouws

My daughter has gone from strength to strength since joining Think Digital Academy. She is now so used to taking notes after watching and reading through the material that she has taken comprehensive notes during her Zoom swimming sessions and is able to explain everything that she has learnt easily from her notes. This is a child who really battled in the conventional schooling system and has undergone a tremendous change since joining Think Digital Academy. Thank you to the Think Digital Team you truly are a spectacular team 😁

Neldie VdMerwe Viljoen

It was the best decision to enroll my grade 10 and 12 kids here. They can't get enough of the interesting lessons. The people are so pleasant and always help with kindness, no matter how many times you call to ask for help. You are the BEST!!!!

Judy-anne Naude

Love the platform, very user friendly.

Annie Andrews

My boys are very much enjoying this. And I love that you can do this anywhere. We take our ipads to the park, and we work from there. I love it!

Bob Howard

TDA is by far the best home schooling platform in South Africa. As a digital home school, I as a student can be anywhere, literally, and do my work. My marks have gone up, I no longer have to travel 2 hours a day and I am much more focused on school work.

Michelle Ferreira

The best. My kids love it!

Lorinda Everson

Love them!! They allow children to be children!!

Kharmen Wicks

Great home school option - we had a great experience last year during Covid lockdown. Our matric daughter passed with a university exemption - we were very happy with the support she received while she was doing her online studies with them - thank you Think Digital!!!

Stephanie Hibbert

We did the 2 week trial and my son loved it. We've now paid for it and he sits for an hr at a time and does his work im very happy with how much he enjoys this program.
Read more...