2025 – Batjha Kaofela Short Stories

Grade 9, Pride Learning Academy They say “Wathinta abafazi, Wathita imbokodo.” But what happens when the rock is only fifteen […]

Grade 9, Rand Girls’ School A world where you and I are equally treated. That’s all I ever wished for.

Grade 8, Learmore Institute She wore the blazer with confidence and dignity. She held her head high as she walked

Grade 11 New Model Private College (Trigger Warning, description of rape) She was tired of the pain, she was tired

Grade 7, Learnmore Institute Lerato woke up before sunrise, the cool morning air brushing against her skin. She lived in

Grade 10, Providence Academy I’ve always wondered why babies cry when they’re first born. Beyond the obvious reasons, I think

Grade 7, Learnmore Institute In a small village in South Africa, deep in the rolling hills, there was a boy

Grade 9, Pride Learning Academy As students we are pressured to live up to certain expectations, our educational life planned

Grade 11, Centurion College The final bell of the school year echoed through the halls, a sound that marked the

Grade 7, Education Alive Once upon a time, there were two scientists who were best friends. Those two scientists were

Grade 9, Pride Learning Academy In the village of Thathe lived a young fourteen-year-old girl, and her name was Tshanduko,

Grade 11, Providence Academy As I walk back home with my shoulders slumped like I have the world on my

Grade 8, Learnmore Institute There lived a fifteen-year-old girl named Nandi who stayed in a small cottage in Newlands with

Grade 11, Providence Academy We all sat around the fire on our cow-skins. Our legs were stretched out and our

Grade 8, Pride Learning Academy I woke up early in the morning feeling sleepy and exhausted. I placed a pot

Grade 10, Pride Learning Academy It felt like I was trapped in a never-ending cycle, suffocating under the weight of

Grade 10, Providence Academy If somebody in my community asked me, “Why are you gay?” I wouldn’t be able to

Grade 8, New Model Private College Alex had always loved singing. As a child, he’d belt out his favourite tunes

Grade 9, PUSH Sometimes I wonder what purpose I serve in life. There is so much to life. You need

Grade 11, Centurion College The bathroom mirror stared back at me, unforgiving under the harsh fluorescent light. I adjusted my