The first quarter has been busy across Gauteng, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, with leadership cohorts concluding, new ones launching, and our footprint continuing to expand.
In February, three Leaders for Education cohorts reached the end of their 12-month journey:
- Our 22nd and 23rd Tshwane cohorts
- Our 58th cohort in Johannesburg
These milestones mark a full year of sustained work by the participating school principals and business leaders, supported closely by our programme facilitators who carry the patient, relational work that turns theory into practice within schools.
The Tshwane cohorts will extend their learning beyond year one by embarking on Leaders for Education Year 2, while principals in KwaZulu-Natal schools move into their third year as part of our three-year pilot. This longer runway allows leaders to navigate complexity over time, testing ideas, adapting practice and embedding change within the realities of their schools.
This quarter also takes us into Badplaas, Mpumalanga, with our first Leaders for Education cohort in the town. At the same time, new cohorts in Polokwane, Lephalale and Durban strengthen our presence in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. In Johannesburg, we mark our 60th cohort in the city, focused on schools in the East Rand — a reminder that reaching more schools matters only if each school experiences meaningful change.
In 2024, we expanded into the municipal sector with the launch of our first Leaders for Municipality cohort. In 2026, we will be launching our first cohort in Gauteng, bringing business and municipal leaders into structured partnerships and creating opportunities for shared problem-solving in local government, where leadership pressures are both acute and constant.
This growth inland is mirrored across the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State, where Citizen Leader Lab will be launching programmes that bring leaders together.
In the Western Cape, Stellenbosch will host the first School Management Leadership Programme in March, welcoming four schools: Stellenzicht High School, Kylemore Secondary School, Weber Gedenk Primary School and Vlottenburg Primary School. Alongside this, eight schools along the Garden Route, in Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, will begin the Leaders for Education Programme, fully funded by the FEM Education Foundation.
Further along the coast, the Eastern Cape will see the programme launch in the Mthatha area and Tabase Village in April, supporting eight schools through the Trevor Noah Foundation’s Khulani Nathi Innovation Fund. In the Free State, April will also bring new cohorts in Wesselsbron and Bothaville, with seven schools in Wesselsbron and one in Bothaville joining the programme.
