Zeekoevlei High School, in Lotus River, could not have been prouder of their matric results which increased from 77.3% in 2018 to 95.6% in 2019.
Principal William Prinsloo said they had proved that their motto “history today, determines your tomorrow” was accurrate as they scored the highest among the schools in their area and surrounds.
Mr Prinsloo said the recipe for good results was hard work and prayer. “Educators must also be committed to raise the bar. I am very proud of the matrics and I have had no complaints about them (throughout the year).”
Teachers Gilliam Oakes and Mellissa De Vos were monitoring each pupil’s progress.
Ms Oakes said: “I must say the children were very disciplined and that saved the day for us.”
Ms De Vos said she persevered and she had been dedicated to fighting any challenge.
Southern Mail spoke to a few matriculants who shared their methods of studying and also how they tackled their challenges.
Rushda Spannenberg said she had been determined and focused. However, she thanked Ms Oakes for “moulding me since Grade 9, after I took the wrong road – I hadn’t been focused and Ms Oakes was my saving grace”.
Finding a quiet place to study was Rushda’s challenge, but she achieved her goal and has been accepted at the University of Cape Town (UCT) to study law.
Courtney Williams said she had moved from fifth place to third place in her grade and her strong point was her competitiveness and determination to beat her peers. “I only had a problem when we worked as a group and some members were not as committed as me.”
Karin Zoba said she focused on improving her results and she came fourth, by taking extra classes on weekends, after school, and on holidays. The biggest challenge she had to face was gangsters shooting while she was studying. But she believed that at the end of the day she had to find a way to get out of a difficult situation. “I would like to study teaching,” she said.
Baseemah Salie said she tried different methods of studying. “I would read out loud to myself, but trying to focus on what I was reading, was not easy.”
Baseemah wants to be an air hostess.
Maurice Rix said besides hard work and consistency, his aim had been to beat his older brother’s matric results, and he did it. He wants to be an occupational therapist.
Sihle Hlaletyeni said his technique was to study half of the work, at night, sleep for three hours and then study the rest of the work. “I would like to study law,” he said.
Mr Prinsloo said 2019’s great results were in memory of Vincent Carelse, better known as Oom Kallie, who was a life-time volunteer at Zeekoevlei High. He assisted children in sport, a great motivator and he provided their stationery as well (“Oom Kallie’s legacy lives on,” Southern Mail, January 8).