It’s not about the marks, it’s about the journey that got you to them.
Natasha Yoko of Reddam House Waterfall has earned herself some outstanding results in the 2019 matric exams.
For her hard work, she was awarded a whopping nine distinctions, had an overall average of 93.2 per cent, was in the top one per cent nationally in five of her subjects and was even placed on the IEB outstanding list of learners countrywide. But it is the personal growth that she and her family are most proud of, as she faced (and conquered) both academic and personal challenges on her road to success.
“I was surprised with my results,” she told the Fourways Review on the day results were released. “Particularly my art mark, as I only switched to that subject at the end of the third term in Grade 11.”
The switch to a brand-new subject nearly two years after her classmates started it was a challenge, but one she was happy to make, as her passion for drawing meant she believed it was worth the effort. The new subject was also a chance for her to work through the difficulties of her parent’s divorce, a hardship that eventually inspired her final project for the subject.
“When my parents divorced it was a traumatic time of life, particularly with my relationship with my mom. There were so many things to say to each other that we just weren’t able to say.”
Natasha asked her mom Paula to write down issues between the two, and her contributions became the basis of Natasha’s piece, which was drawn in graphite and took hundreds of hours to complete. The work helped sooth relationships as well as earned the artist an A grade, and on the day the results were released the family showed up to celebrate Natasha’s success together – Paula, dad Sascha and stepmother Marta Atanassova.
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And her advice for the matrics of 2020 as they prepare for their finals? “Different people are good at different things,” she said. “Everyone has talents, so just use yours to your advantage.
“Just put your head down, work hard, and though you may be getting a lot of pressure to do well, ignore it and just do your best.”
This year Natasha will begin her tertiary studies and she will be attending the University of Pretoria to study BSc Mathematical Sciences.
