48 young people from Alexandra and nearby communities have delivered a masterclass in resilience, achieving a 100% pass rate in the 2025 matric examinations, with a 100% Bachelor’s Degree pass rate, and a collective haul of 104 distinctions.

These were not learners from privileged suburbs. They were beneficiaries of the Alexandra Education Committee (AEC), children whose talent might have gone unnoticed without the committee’s intervention.

For 30 years, AEC has refused to let potential vanish in overcrowded township classrooms. By scouting academically gifted learners in grades 5 to 7, tracking their progress, and awarding bursaries, the committee has opened doors to well-resourced ex-model C and private schools.

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From Grade 8, bursary recipients receive not only tuition support but also transport, uniforms, books, Saturday lessons in maths, English, and science, career guidance, and mentorship that carries them through doubt and disruption.

The payoff came in January 2026, when the Class of 2025 results were released. Among the top achievers was Ndivhuwo Ramashia, who earned four distinctions and now holds an offer to study BCom Accounting Sciences at the University of Cape Town.

Thandeka Mncube, with three distinctions, has been accepted at the University of Pretoria for a Bachelor in Information Sciences, majoring in Data Science. She said her performance can be attributed to AEC’s extra classes. “Maths classes helped a lot, because I moved from level five to level six in everything.”

Reatlegile Chipu, also with three distinctions, praised AEC for exposing him to different problem-solving methods: “Having those different ways of getting to the answer helped me a lot. That is why I am indebted to AEC.”

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For Motheo Matjie, who earned five distinctions and is headed to Wits for a Bachelor of Economic Science, AEC’s Saturday AP Maths classes were helpful. “At school we had no teacher, but here there was one every Saturday. My marks climbed from the low 50s to the high 70s.”

Others, like Thandolethu Mhlongo, who achieved six distinctions, highlighted the psychosocial support that kept them motivated through challenges.

AEC director Paul Channon reflected on the learners’ achievement with pride. “They have had to work harder than many of the students before them, particularly if you were at a school in Alexandra, which, I think, were closed up during the lockdown.

They have had to work very hard. I am proud of them.”

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