The first day of the school year is usually filled with excitement. With uniforms washed and shoes polished, friends reunite and catch up on holiday news. For many, especially those entering the school gates for the first time, it's also a day of trepidation. There's the fear of the unknown, unfamiliar faces and regimes of order and discipline. And for a few there is the worry of finding access denied, after standing in queues before administrators in the hope of being allocated a seat in a class...

Finding Place and Keeping Pace focuses on getting access to and completing basic education in South Africa. It is based on research conducted for the Consortium on Research in Education Access, Transition and Equity (CREATE), an international study funded by the UK's Department for International Development and which was led by Professor Keith Lewin of Sussex University.

The book showcases a rich body of research dealing with educational access, inclusion and exclusion and provides a critical appraisal of how far South Africa has come in terms of achieving the Millennium Development and Education For All goals in terms of access and quality indicators.