From overcoming the trauma of watching her mother being murdered, to dodging criminals en route to school and writing exams days after their home burnt down - these Cape matriculants beat the odds to achieve stellar marks.
In a year marred by a worsening economic crisis, crippling power cuts and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, these learners stood firm and worked hard to achieve exceptional results.
One of these exceptional learners is Jerusha Armoed, 18, from Villiersdorp who received six distinctions.
At the age of three, Armoed’s father murdered her mother in front of her. Her father went to prison and she was placed in her grandmother’s care, but she also passed away in 2021.
“Losing two mothers in one lifetime felt like I was standing alone in the world. Almost as if God had forgotten about me, as if He had allowed everyone to go on the hill of Calvary and He had deliberately cast me down to suffer,” she said.
Armoed said she kept on praying and hoped that someday there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. And there was.
She is now an A-candidate student with six distinctions.
“I did not let my circumstances define me or let it determine what’s ahead,” she said.
Another top performer in the province is Athenkosi Khonzani from Khayelitsha’s Centre of Science and Technology (Cosat) who obtained seven distinctions and a 100% pass-rate for Maths, Physical Science and Information Technology.
Khonzani came in second place nationally in the quintile four schools for his stellar achievement.
The 18-year-old said he did not allow the crime plaguing his community to deter him from getting to school.
"It is a very dangerous walk but it was something that had to be done. Every day I walked by faith that nothing would happen,” he said.
He said he plans to study electrical and computer engineering at the University of Cape Town.
“I did not give load shedding a chance to have an impact on my studies. I used whatever I could find whether it was a candle or a flash light. We should stop making excuses and find solutions. That is what I did.
“I have learned that when you are consistent, there is very little that can go wrong. I studied every day and even set up a timetable and stuck to it. I also had a day-to-day ‘to do’ list to keep me motivated,” he said.
Khonzani said his advise to this year’s matric class is to work hard and stay focused.
“Do not limit yourself. Study whenever and wherever. Take a break and have fun, but keep your head in the game and stay focused. You can do whatever you set your mind to,” he added.
And it was not just learners that are celebrating exceptional results this weekend.
The Joe Slovo Engineering School in Khayelitsha also celebrated a matric pass rate increase of 28.9%. The school achieved 76.3% pass up from the previous year’s 46.5% and a dismal performance of 37% in 2020.
The school’s top achiever Siphamandla Lathitha Mthimkhulu, 17, received two distinctions in pure mathematics and physical science.
Mthimkhulu’s home burnt down during a shack fire just before the exams begun last year and had to move in with his aunt in order to write.
“I dreamt of this kind of result but I began to lose hope after the experience I had when our house burnt, but I didn't let it disturb my studies. I worked hard to get the results I got and my teachers were always available when I needed them,” he said.
He said the extra classes and the support from his family contributed to his success. The teenager wants to study chemical engineering and physics.
His mother, Zoliswa Mthimkhulu said the entire family was proud of the teenager’s achievements.
The school’s principal Sityhilelo Ntamo said they struggled to obtain good results over the last five yeas.
“But new strategies like afternoon and weekend classes helped us improve our results. Working on curbing late coming is another way that helped us as teachers,” he said
“We are grateful to all the role players who supported, especially the parents who were pushing the kids to attend all these classes even during awkward times.”
Weekend Argus