It has been estimated that only around 34% of children in South Africa grow up with their biological father in the same household. In 2014, 61% of babies born in South Africa had no details of a father on their birth certificate. The impact of absent fathers on the social fabric of South Africa, as in other parts of the world, is immense. Calling Academy wants to be part of the solution by helping boys develop a healthy framework for fatherhood. The Future Fathers focus has been part of Calling Education’s vision from the inception of the organisation with the work of The World Needs a Father a major inspiration. Future Fathers is a recurring enrichment module during a learner’s time at the school.

In a world where shifts in technology bring about constant change, the ability to code can be a powerful addition to anyone’s résumé and will become more important in the coming years. Calling boys get exposure to Blockly coding through the tablets of School-in-a-Box that are used by the school and several learners attend the afternoon coding club that was started in collaboration with WeCode24.

Through a partnership with the Oxford Centre for Tutorial Teaching and the Oxford Day Academy, the Oxford Tutorial Method is implemented at Calling Academy.

This method aims at enhancing learners’ ability to formulate and defend their own arguments both in connection to academic subjects and to topical societal issues. This mainly takes place through research, essay writing and defence of that essay. Some learners have been exposed to the method, training of staff and interns has taken place and learners have travelled to Oxford, UK. The end goal is to embed the OTM as part of the teaching methodology of Calling Academy.