The Top Achiever Programme
Since 2012, Maru-a-Pula has partnered with the Botswana Government to offer places to the best students in the country, under the ‘Top Achiever’ programme. This was a great recognition of the quality of education in Botswana and the fact that our A-Level results match the best schools in the UK, often at a fraction of the cost.
The Top Achievers are chosen on the basis of their IGCSE/BGCSE results and are effectively the top 80 students out of their national cohort of approximately 33,000. As can be imagined, it is a pleasure to work with such high-flying individuals, but what makes it more special is that the students come from such a diverse range of backgrounds. Some have been MaP students and others have had the benefit of private education, but the majority have gone through the Government system. We have had children from the most underprivileged backgrounds go through the scheme and head off to the world’s best universities.
Those selected are sponsored through their A-Level programme and upon successful completion, they are admitted to the universities of their choice. They are then sponsored through their first degree, with the Botswana Government picking up not only tuition costs but also transport, accommodation and living costs. Depending on the course and university, this package is worth in the region of P2 to P8 million for each student.
It has been a joy to work not only with the students but also with the Botswana Government, who are the driving force behind a truly life-changing scheme.
Jonathan Laverick (Director of A-Level Studies)
It has been no small privilege to teach some of the brightest young people in my country. These students’ enthusiasm, optimism and sense of wonder have been a pleasure to experience. I wonder whether they, or I, have learned the most.
Alan Wilson, History department
Maru-a-Pula’s Top Achievers are motivated by a true intellectual curiosity and love of learning. Each day, these students walk into the classroom prepared and eager to dive into the material, continually displaying their proficiency in both critical and creative thinking. It is this authentic motivation that has allowed their collective ambition to study at the most prestigious universities to become a possibility. I know I speak for each member of Maru-a-Pula’s faculty that has had the pleasure to teach these inspiring students when I say that I am both humbled and privileged to provide the Top Achievers with academic guidance.
Phoebe Carver, Princeton in Africa Fellow