South African Council for English Education (SACEE)

The South African Council for English Education (SACEE) is a registered non-profit association, made up mainly of volunteers, that promotes the teaching, learning and appreciation of English. A small group of people dedicated to protecting English usage founded SACEE in 1955, and its national office is in Pretoria.

Registered name

South African Council for English Education (SACEE)

Type

Non-profit association (English education)

Fields funded

Further study for qualified teachers in speech training, oral communication or English teaching

Website

sacee.org.za

Email

sacee.national@gmail.com

Branches run by volunteers

SACEE works through branches run by volunteers, which organise competitions, events and outreach programmes. SACEE’s website lists branches in Bloemfontein, Border, the Eastern Cape, Johannesburg, Mid-Vaal, Polokwane, Pretoria and the Western Cape, and hopes to open branches in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Members include teachers, lecturers, learners, pensioners, journalists, editors, writers, broadcasters and business people.

SACEE funds its work through membership and entry fees, publication sales, sponsorship, donations and fundraising, and holds Section 18A tax-exempt status for donors.

National projects

SACEE has published English Alive, an annual anthology of writing from South African high schools and colleges, since 1967, and several contributors have become established writers. SACEE also runs the English Olympiad with the Grahamstown Foundation, an annual literary competition since 1976 whose prizes include cash and a year’s free tuition at Rhodes University. Other projects include Language Challenge and Puzzle Parade competitions, and some branches take part in World Schools Debating Leagues.

The Norah Taylor Bursary

The Norah Taylor Bursary began at SACEE’s Pretoria branch to help former students and teachers of the Pretoria College of Education further their studies in teaching or promoting English. The bursary now targets qualified teachers with at least an M+3 qualification and four years of teaching experience who want to study speech training, oral communication or teaching English as a first or second language, by correspondence, part-time or full-time at a South African institution. Because recipients are practising teachers, there is no work-back obligation.

Applications close on 31 July of the year before study. However, SACEE announced that because of a lack of funds, the Norah Taylor Bursary and Ex-PCE Bursary would not be available for the 2022/2023 academic years, and SACEE had not announced their return when BursariesAfrica checked.

How teachers can research SACEE

Email SACEE’s national office to ask whether the bursary is offered before preparing an application, and join your nearest branch to stay informed. Teachers can also enter learners in English Alive or the English Olympiad.

See our Education Bursaries list.