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‘The world is your oyster’.
This is the encouraging phrase given to the 2022 top matric learners during the Western Cape national senior certificate awards ceremony held at Leeuwenhof today.
The Western Cape achieved an 81,4% pass rate while achieving a retention rate of nearly 70%, resulting in 49 102 candidates passing their matric exams.
For the past six years, the country’s top achiever hailed from the Western Cape while for the past four consecutive years, the top mathematics learner was also from the province.
Western Cape Minister of Education, David Maynier says she is elated that five candidates ranked amongst the best and the brightest in the country hail from the Western Cape.
Kelly Prowse from Rustenberg Girls’ High School, a joint top learner in the country, was recognised as the top candidate in Quintile 5 and the top candidate in Mathematics.
Simone Louw from Bloemhof High School ranked second in Quintile 5, while Kenneth Janson from Hoer Jongenskool Paarl was third in the same category.
Athenkosi Khonzani from the Centre of Science and Technology was awarded second place in the Quintile 3 category and Jason de Villiers from Rondebosch Boys’ High was the second-placed candidate in Mathematics.
Maynier says: “The class of 2022 missed so much class time during the pandemic and in the matric year had to cope with load shedding and taxi strikes, our candidates, districts, parents and teachers put in a lot of effort into preparing for the exam, their hard work paid off, we are incredibly proud, we can’t wait to see what they do next.”
Prowse says she feels proud of her achievement. She shares some tips with other learners.
“Stay consistent, pace yourself and take each day as it comes. Don’t go crazy at the start and keep revising. Don’t make school your only form of education, read widely and try and expand your knowledge further.”
Khonzani scored a 100% in Information Technology, Mathematics and Physical Sciences. He says he put in a lot of hard work.
“Those were my favourite subjects, so I put in more time with them. I had the best teachers. I made a lot of sacrifices like seeing fewer of my friends and just staying in my room and spending time with my books.”
Shimé van den Bergh, from Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof in Stellenbosch, was one of two candidates who was awarded the special ministerial award.
The award recognises learners who achieved academic excellence despite hardships.
Van den Bergh was diagnosed with bone cancer three days before the start of the final exams.
The learner experienced many hardships during her final exams but despite this managed to complete her exam and scored 7 distinctions passing with a 91.3% average.
Van den Bergh says: “I want to study medicine, so that kept me motivated to work hard despite everything. I am proud of myself. I didn’t think I would do this well because I was feeling sick most of the time. I would encourage the class of 2023 to give their best.”
Premier Alan Winde says: “Thank you for making us proud. To the class of 2022, take up the baton. You guys have shown your resilience. Go and change the world, I know you can.”
