Boksburg matriculants who sat for the 2020 National Senior Certificate Examination Results (NSC) are happy that they passed, with others achieving multiple distinctions despite the massive disruptions caused by Covid-19.
Under the circumstances of 2020, some schools even managed to achieve a significantly high pass rate in the NSC exams, with Balmoral College achieving an overall pass rate of 100 per cent.
Most of the learners who aced the exams said although the year was the most challenging for them as they were compelled to stay at home or use learning platforms unfamiliar to them, the support from their teachers contributed to the positive outcome of their matric results.
However, some disadvantaged township schools, such as Oos Rand Secondary and Reiger Park Secondary, said they seriously felt the negative impact of the pandemic, evident in a drop in their overall pass rate.
Management at these schools said although they are disappointed at the performance of their learners, the achieved rates would still not be a bad one if one took into account the disruptions of Covid-19.
Balmoral College
The school has again achieved 100 per cent pass rate, with 92.27 per cent of pupils qualified for admission to bachelor and 9.72 per cent admission to diploma studies. In total, the 2020 group received 59 As and 127 Bs.
The top four learners were: Munashe Kasinauyo (seven distinctions), Muano Makumbane (six distinctions), Juliet Mokgadi Monare (five distinctions) and Tumelo Maphaba with four distinctions.
Top achievers share their matric experience amid the pandemic:
The school’s top performer Munashe Kasinauyo said she was not expecting this outcome.
“It was a very tough year and I had more downs than ups last year. I didn’t have much time to learn and practise, and when I saw the results I was shocked more than everybody else at home.
“I think this achievement was made possible because of the strong support we got from the teachers and my parents who were always there for me.
“They taught me a few study tips. Also, make sure that when you want to do something you do it to the best of your ability.
“And also when you study don’t put too much pressure on yourself, just study a little day by day. At the end make sure that you have enough time to relax before you write your exams, because when you are tired you make a lot of mistakes,” said Munashe.
After such a tough year, Munashe aims to go to university and study to become a neurologist, as it has always been her passion to study the brain. She, however, still needs to choose between neurology and chemical engineering.
The top performer’s mother, Cornelia, who works at the school as a teacher, said they were also shocked by Munashe’s results, given that she had to stay at home for about a month after her father had contracted the virus.
“We couldn’t believe her results after receiving the SMS at about 3am. We thought perhaps there was a mix-up, and thereupon, we went to the filling station to buy the newspaper to verify. And we found that it was indeed true,” said Munashe’s mother.
Juliet Mokgadi Monare, 2020 head girl, said making education the focus of one’s attention and the support she received from teachers helped her to ace the exams. She aims to study medicine or actuarial science.
“I was surprised when I got my results as I was not expecting five distinctions and two Bs,” said Juliet.
The school’s principal, Memory Wium, said their school made the most of the limited time and available resources to ensure the learners pull through.
“We are proud of our matric results. We have succeeded to overcome many challenges, and our 100 per cent pass rate comes with hard work and dedication from educators and learners. Well done and congratulations to you all.”
Oos Rand Secondary
Oos Rand Secondary achieved a 75.1 per cent pass rate, with 24 learners qualified for admission to bachelor, 62 admissions to diploma and 17 to higher certificates studies.
The school’s pass rate is slightly higher than the 74 per cent achieved in 2019 but is seen as a great achievement. Management attributed this improvement to its team of dedicated educators.
The school principal, Peter Arendse, said management is very proud of the learners who under difficult circumstances managed to qualify for admission to bachelor, diploma and higher certificates admissions.
He, however, indicated that they are not pleased with the pass rate, because it doesn’t match up to the efforts made by the educators.
The school also had a large number of ‘progressed’ matric learners (candidates who were progressed to Grade 12 despite failing Grade 11), who were allowed to write all their subjects at one exam sitting, instead of spreading their exams over two years.
“Our school didn’t have online teaching, it was just plain hard work from educators who helped the children after lockdown. I must commend them for making an all-out effort to prepare our learners for the exams.
“We are looking forward to increasing our pass rate in the 2021 academic year. I also want to say thank the SGB for the sterling support they gave us last year,” said Arendse.
Reiger Park Secondary
The newly appointed Reiger Park Secondary School principal Shawn Martins said the class of 2020 and the teachers worked very hard, but it was a difficult year.
The school managed to score 59.2 per cent pass rate, a major drop from the 76 per cent from 2019.
“Yes, there were many challenges such as school closures due to positive cases and lack of resources to roll out distance learning programmes for our learners,” said Martins.
Thirty-seven of the 201 learners who sat for the exams were able to qualify for admission to bachelor studies, 44 achieved entry to diploma study, and 38 qualified for higher certificate study admission.
Management aims to transform this school into one of the best institutions in the district.
Also Read: What Matrics must know before choosing their field of study and career path
