Student Sponsorship Programme

Student Sponsorship Programme South Africa (SSP SA) is a non-profit trust based in Johannesburg, South Africa that enables academically distinguished, economically disadvantaged students to excel at some of the top private and public high schools in the Gauteng and Eastern Cape provinces. The SSP process begins by recruiting exceptional students from underprivileged communities and placing those students into top private and public high schools of nearby districts. To complete the process and ensure a positive outcome, SSP provides extensive support services for the students and their parents throughout all the high school years.

SSP was founded in 1999 by Teresa Clarke, Nyagaka Ongeri and Gerri Engelman. In 2000, SSP placed 25 students in three high schools in Johannesburg: St Mary's School, Waverley, St. Stithians College, and King Edward VII School. Each of those 25 students was matched with a mentor for the full five years of high school. The programme performed exceptionally well, in that all 25 students completed the eighth grade.

In the first classes of graduates, 94% of the SSP scholars graduated from high school, and 95% of those graduates went on to university, the majority following degrees in the areas of finance, engineering, advertising/marketing, law and medicine. SSP is working towards providing opportunities for all students to attend a top educational institution, and ultimately, to receive a university degree and enter the workforce.

In 2007, most of SSP scholars achieved higher marks than their peers in their schools, as demonstrated by their scorecards. And many of them were elected to a number of leadership positions, including Head Boy/Girl, Deputy Head Boy/Girl, Prefect, Head of House, and sport’s team captain.

The huge success of the programme for the following years allowed SSP to secure for additional funding necessary to continue to accept more students. In 2009, there were almost 400 students in the programme, including 177 alumni.

On 24 February 2011, SSP celebrated its 10th year anniversary. The celebrations, including a gala dinner, focused on having placed over 610 students through the program, including 365 current scholars and 245 alumni, as well as the number of current partner schools and the excellent passing rate. More than 90% of SSP scholars will continue their studies at tertiary level.