Kuswag head girl shines

DURING Kuswag School’s annual prize giving, head girl Chantelle Spies (18) once again took home the majority of the prizes.

This diversely talented teen excels in academics, leadership, on the netball court and in various cultural activities.

Chantelle has 10 subjects (Afrikaans, English, Mathematics, Science, Biology, Geography, History, Business Studies, Accountancy and Life Orientation) and is aiming for 10 distinctions in the matric final examination. For the fifth consecutive year she was awarded the Dux of her grade. In 2011, she made history to become the first ever grade 10 pupil to achieve an average of 95% thus cum laude academic honours and was awarded a white blazer. This year she became the only scholar in the schools history to receive cum laude honours for three consecutive years. During the Prestige Gala event Chantelle was awarded the trophies for the best achievement in: Physical Science, Biology, Accountancy, Business Studies, Geography, Biology, Life Orientation and/or Life Science and/or Mathematics.

“I have learnt to live a balanced life and to use my time wisely. If there is something that I’m very grateful for, it is the fact that my mom taught us the importance of time management from a very young age, especially if one wants to have a happy, balanced life. It was great fun and a privilege to participate in so many activities. I am very grateful for the wonderful talents the Lord has blessed me with and my loving and supporting family.”

She is a busy bee and also received the highest cultural trophy for the best cultural contribution during a pupil’s school career. She was the senior general best public speaker of the year. She won the English best speaker competition and Afrikaanse interne redenaarkompetisie, each, four times out of her five high school years that she participated. For three years, Chantelle reached the final round of the KZN ATKV-public speaking competition and she participated twice at the EG Jansen public speaking KZN-round. Then she was also sang in the school choir, was a member of the school’s editorial team, ATKV-Jeugtak leader, VCSV leader and took part in this year’s school cabaret.

The talented all-rounder also excelled on the sports field. Chantelle has represented KZN Action-Netball A-teams for six consecutive years and played for her school’s first netball and action netball team. This year she represented the KZN U19 action netball team at an inter-provincial tournament held in Pretoria, where she received the prestigious All Stars (top 10) award.

At the school prize giving, she was also awarded the trophies for perseverance, the most diverse girl (leadership, academics, sport and culture) and the most outstanding girl.

Chantelle plans to study chemical engineering with specialisation in mineral engineering at the University of North-West from next year. She is still applying for bursaries, as “I only made my final decision of what to study very late in the year because I have a such a wide variety of interests and did not want to regret my decision at a later stage. Unfortunately by then most of the companies offering bursaries had already closed their applications.” However she is now convinced that she has made the right decision as she thoroughly enjoys science. She can be reached by email at vanrhyn13@gmail.com