Lindile Secondary School is one of the 115 centres where winter schools take place. The programme started on 4 July and will be ending on 15 July. This centre caters for pupils from different schools in and around Ermelo. The Department of Education has set aside R8 million for this programme, in order to improve the matric pass rate in Mpumalanga. The Department provides transport and nutrition to the deserving pupils. Teachers are appointed from different schools according to their track records of producing good matric results by centre managers. “The winter schools have shown an improvement in the matric pass rate of the school, considerinng the percentage increases from 2009 (38%) to 2010 (44%),” Mr JT Shabangu, a centre manager told the Tribune. The students attend classes from Monday to Friday, starting at 08:00 till 14:30. Octavia Mkhonza