Johannesburg – Despite facing a whole new way of learning, thanks to a global pandemic, the Class of 2020 has overcome, and many pupils are looking forward to starting a new chapter of their lives.
Speaking to three of KwaZulu-Natal’s top learners, who each recieved 9 distinctions each, they believe that time management was their secret to acing their exams.
For Westville Girls High learner, Lydia Weber, she cannot wait to set foot in her first music class and work her way towards earning her seat among the country’s most renowned classical musicians.
Lydia said she was thrilled when she found out that she was among KZN’s top learners.
“I was very excited when I got the call. I am the second born of four children and my family is very competitive. I am looking forward to studying music at the University of Pretoria. I am passionate about music and want to master the clarinet. I hope to one day play in an orchestra,” she said.
She said preparing for her final exams was tough but keeping to a schedule and finding time outside of studying helped keep her sane.
Get your 2020 matric results here
“Music helped me and being outside helped me. In school, we walk from one class to the next after a lesson so that little time helps us and when we went into lockdown, we forgot that we needed to be outside and walk around,” she said.
Lydia believes that the Class of 2021 should remain focused but find time to balance academics and cultural activities.
For Star College learner, Sailin Vadivelu, his love for Life Sciences means he will be studying medicine this year.
Sailin attributes his success to his commitment and dedication to his work as well as the unwavering support from his parents, friends and teachers.
“We started online classes in March and my teachers really assisted us. The year wasn’t easy but my teachers would help with extra tuition, sometimes until after 9pm,” he said.
Sailin said having a hobby also helped to keep him balanced. He said he learned to play classical Indian instruments that helped calm him.
An avid fan of shows like Greys Anatomy and The Good Doctor, Sailin said he has a strong stomach and blood and guts isn’t a big deal to him.
In wishing this year’s matric class all the best, Shailin reminded learners that they have to be independent and create time to work and stick to a schedule.
Fellow class mate, Ethan Naidoo, also plans to study medicine and much like Sailin, was excited to hear that he was in the province’s top matriculants.
“I visited the University of the Witwatersrand last year and fell in love with the campus. I am hoping to study medicine at Wits this year. I have always been passionate about biology,” he said.
He believes his faith in God, the constant encouragement of his parents, his friends and teachers kept him balanced. Ethan said a few of his friends plan to study in Johannesburg so he won’t be alone.
“I’ll definitely miss my family this side but I am looking forward to new adventures,” he said.
Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, officially announced the matric results on Monday, revealing that the Class of 2020 had achieved a pass rate of 76.2% – a drop of 5.1% from the previous year’s pass mark.
She said out of a total of 607 226 candidates that entered for the 2020 National Senior Certificate exams, a total of 578 468 students wrote.
Click here to get your Matric 2020 results.
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