The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing access and retention in secondary schooling for orphans and other vulnerable children living in high HIV prevalence areas of Lesotho. A case study approach was used to address this aim. The findings from this study have been used to inform an intervention that seeks to increase access to learning and thereby reduce drop-out and repetition rates in secondary schools. This study and the intervention are part of a larger programme of research known as the SOFIE Project (see http://sofie.ioe.ac.uk). This report is divided into five further sections. Section 2 presents a brief synthesis of the findings from the background literature review prepared in the first phase of the Project. Section 3 describes the methodology for the case study research including the research questions and design. This section includes a presentation of the research sites and the sampling of participants. It continues with a description of the data collection methods and examines some of the ethical considerations and limitations of the study. Sections 4 and 5 present the case study findings giving details of the context of the case studies and a cross-case analysis and a discussion of the findings. In section 6 the report concludes with a summary of the key findings and implications for the design of an appropriate open and flexible educational model for intervention.