Khumalo, a Ben Vorster High School learner from Nkowankowa, believes that the class of 2020 will be able to catch up and succeed at the end of the year.

“We are a special bunch of students, we are the matrics of a new decade,” he said.

The youngster told Herald that when lockdown was announced, he thought that things would eturn to normal after 21 days.

“I was disappointed when President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an extension to the lockdown.

“I started to lose hope, I thought we would not be able go back to school again,” Khumalo added.

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He eventually pulled himself together and adapted to the new way of living.

Khumalo has learned to set boundaries to both his friends and family members by explaining to them that he is only available on certain times.

“I had to start disciplining myself and set up my own studying schedule,” he said.

His message to the class of 2020 is that they must put in the work and in the end they will reap the rewards.

On Monday he was one of the learners who returned to school, but were eventually sent back home.

He said they felt safe on the school premises as his school had taken proper precautions to keep them safe.