Alex’s matric stars

Hloniphane Mabasa (18), who attended KwaBhekilanga Secondary School, attributed her good matric pass to support from her single unemployed mother’s and her teachers, her desire to succeed and the ability to ignore peer pressure, distractions and temptations.

Her mother stayed up with her while she was studying at night while also trying to cope with noise from a next door tavern. Mabasa said the abandonment by her father when she was young motivated her to want to succeed, work hard under pressure and to consistently look for alternative sources of educational information. She commended her mother for buying her additional books; and teachers who availed themselves after school and on weekends.

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She urged matrics to put extra effort into their schoolwork by adopting a positive attitude towards education and to develop night study habits. She also advised matrics to make use of teachers who were always ready to assist; accept pressure as a positive challenge and gateway to success; and to resist negative peer pressure. She will be studying property management at Wits University.

Another successful matriculant, Munyai Dembe of Realogile Secondary School, attributed his four distinctions to a supportive and nurturing environment, despite a rowdy nearby tavern. He did, however, get to study with a study group. He said the group started studying together for matric after completing Grade 11 and had completed half of the matric curriculum for four subjects when they started Grade 12.

He also attended afternoon and weekend tutorials at St Mary’s Secondary School and the department’s Secondary School Improvement Programme during the holidays. “I also used the school tablet to download past exam papers which I repeatedly browsed with other study materials to help me grasp all subjects’ concepts,” he said.

Read: Two Alex girls shine in 2016 matric exams

Munyai urged current the matrics to believe in themselves, be part of study groups and ask questions for clarity during lessons. He also advised them to study scheduled lesson content in advance of classes, and to apply good time management in their studies. Munyai has been admitted for a BSc at Wits where he will study either tissue engineering or biomedical engineering.

Details: KwaBhekilanga Secondary School 011 882 1271; Realogile Secondary School 011 443 2908.

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