Babcock helps keep the lights on at Willowmoore High School

In the face of incessant power cuts, Babcock has donated a generator to help Benoni-based Willowmoore High School keep the lights on during the crucial matric examinations.  

With load shedding threatening to take the spark out of examinations, the school took a proactive decision to go into the market for a backup generator. “With the onset of increased loadshedding, we were looking for other options of power generation, especially for our Computer Application Technology and IT exams,” says deputy principal Taryn Kata.

“We requested for quotes from various gen set suppliers. As part of that exercise, we contacted Babcock to request a quote for the supply and installation of a generator. They came to assess our needs and we were fortunate that they offered to loan us a generator for the duration of exams taking place in the computer centre. It was installed on Friday 21 October,” adds Kata.

The generator donation has gone a long way to assist the school. Previously, whenever the electricity was off, the school was unable to use the computer centre, meaning learners would not be able to work. In an event of a power cut, students would have to sit for the duration of load shedding before completing the exam.

“The donation put everyone’s mind at rest. During the Computer Applications Technology exam, the power went out and the learners could continue with the exam without stress,” says Kata.

Load shedding has had a devastating impact on matric exams this year. During a media briefing on November 6, Basic Education officials noted that power cuts had affected almost 4 000 matric students and a total of 119 examination centres since the start of the exams.

“We are extremely grateful to Babcock for their generosity. We realise how fortunate we are. Thank you to Babcock for this kind gesture,” concludes Kata.