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Growsmart is an annual Educational Programme which is currently aimed at Grades 4, 5 and 6 in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo.

Participating schools are selected by the Education Departments. A mentor for each school in each subject will be responsible to co-ordinate Growsmart at their school.

A learner may only participate once in any one of the Growsmart competitions during their lifetime.

  • The Literacy Competition is compulsory.
  • This is based on a spelling bee competition. It requires learners to not only spell words, but also to give definitions and construct sentences. The language is English only.
  • The reason for including definitions is so that learners read and understand the meaning on words. Take the example of the word “water”. The spelling is easy, but most people do not know how to define it properly. Most would say that water is something that we drink, or that water is a liquid. But that definition would be insufficient because Coca-Cola and tea and juice are all liquids that we drink, but they are not water. Learners are encouraged and taught to be as clear in their definitions as possible.
  • Each participating school compete against each other and are represented by a team of 3 learners.
  • Each competition is overseen by a quizmaster, judges and scorekeepers. The teams compete in front of an audience of supporters, teachers and parents.
  • The quizmaster begins by giving the first team a word. The team will then have thirty seconds to discuss the word. When the time is up, one member of the team must spell the word, the second member must provide the definition, and the third member must use the word in a sentence. The team receives one point for each correct answer. The quizmaster then moves over to team number 2 and gives them a different word. The competition round also consists of a buzzer section in which the quizmaster asks a question and the team to press the buzzer first is the team that gets to answer.
  • At the end of the competition round, the team will the highest score advances to the next level of the competition and the other teams are eliminated. If there is a tie for the highest score, the teams are separate by means of a tie-breaker.
  • The Growing Smarter book will be produced from which the competition questions will be drawn. The content of the book will include various subjects from the CAPS curriculum and should be used in classrooms as part of daily lessons.
  • Content will be accessed for FREE online whether from an electronic device or a school computer lab.
  • Content will be divided into an article from the Growing Smarter Book and supported by a video tutorial to enable learners to study the content.
  • The mentors will be the coordinators for their elected competitions and they will ensure that their learners are adequately prepared.
  • The mentor will obtain consent from the parents or legal guardians of each participating learner and ensure the team prepares adequately for each competition round.
  • There will be a Practise Round, Level 1, 2, 3, semi-final and final competition.
  • All participating learners receive either certificates or medals, depending on how far they progress in the competition.
  • There are significant prizes for the top 3 schools and the mentors.
  • The Story Writing Competition is compulsory.
  • Each of the participating schools selects learners (3 learners per school in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, 5 learners per school in Limpopo) who do not enter as a team, but as individuals.
  • Each learner will receive a writing pack, consisting of a creative writing workbook and various stationery items.
  • Growsmart provides topics from which to choose and then the learner creates and submits a story book and a book review.
  • Each book is marked twice by a team of markers according to criteria set by the Western Cape Education Department and audited.
  • There are significant prizes for the top authors in each province, their mentors.
  • The Mathematics Competition is compulsory.
  • This competition is conducted similarly to the literacy competition, in that 3 learners represent their schools and the winners progress through levels to the final round. 
  • Questions are not found in the Growing Smarter book but rather examples that are similar can be found in the book.
  • Learners are required to solve mathematical problems.
  • They are broken down into Mental Maths; Basic operations in higher number ranges involving BODMAS and Problem solving: Routine & non – routine.
  • There are significant prizes for the top learners and their mentors.