Glencoe celebrates 7 A Mncedisi’ academic success
He received a trophy, certificate and laptop from the MEC which made his mother and family ‘extremely proud’.

Mncedisi Simelane’s journey to being the top 2024 matric learner in the Umzinyathi District is one of old fashioned toil to shrug off a humble background.
The 18-year-old ML Sultan Glencoe Secondary learner returned 7 A symbols, including a near-perfect 99% for Life Science. His other distinctions were in English Home Language, Zulu, Life Orientation, Geography, Maths (pure) and Physical Science.
He described his excitement upon being invited to travel to the ICC in Durban where KZN Education MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, welcomed the top matrics from all districts last Tuesday.
This was Mncedisi’s first trip to Durban accompanied by an equally proud principal, Mrs A Lalla, who only took up the post a year ago.
“It was wonderful to meet all the other top achievers in KZN. They were all very humble and I hope to stay in contact with some as we move on with our educational journey,” Mncedisi said.
Originally from the Nyanyadu area, Mncedisi lost his father when he was just three. The family moved to Glencoe in 2010 and he completed his primary schooling at Glencoe Violet School before enrolling into ML Sultan Glencoe Secondary. He describes himself as having always been hardworking with a passion for life science and maths.
“I have many family members who are life science teachers so I guess that’s where that passion comes from,” he told the Courier.
A very organised learner, Mncedisi says his ‘secret to success’ was must plain hard work. “I advise anyone wanting to achieve to build a learning system that suits them. This is what I did. I started early and put in many hours. There were extra classes and wonderful support from Mrs Lalla and our educators who were even available after hours.”
Mrs Lalla said while she expected Mncedisi to do really well in the final examinations she did not expect him to be the top learner in the district.
“That news caught me by surprise and is a first for our under-resourced school. Our fees are only R2500 a year with the majority of parents not being able to afford pay. But what we do offer is quality education from our dedicated staff.”
Mrs Lalla said Mncedisi was identified as a top achiever and his teachers backed him up to ensure his studying was ‘symbol-driven’.
His top results have paid dividends – he has received a bursary from the SA Reserve Bank to study actuarial science at the University of Pretoria.
This discipline assesses financial risks in the insurance and finance fields, using mathematical and statistical methods.
He is very excited by this challenge and is keen to get started. The Courier wishes him well!
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