Kearsney College boys are KZN boffins
The 113 Kearsney boys who wrote Matric achieved an impressive 226 distinctions between them – an average of two distinctions each.
KEARSNEY College emerged as the top KZN independent boys’ school for the third time in four years, following the release of the IEB National Senior Certificate examination results.
Having three candidates in the country’s Outstanding and Commendable Achievement lists, which encompasses the country’s top 134 candidates or top 1.2 per cent of all IEB pupils, is more than any other independent boys’ school in the province.
On the IEB’s Outstanding Achievement list, with seven As, was Jabulani Nyathi, deputy-head prefect, head of the prestigious Kearsney College choir and captain of the cross country team. Jabulani is in the top 5 per cent of pupils in six or more subjects in South Africa, and is in the top 1 per cent for Drama, Music and Physical Sciences.
Kearsney’s excellence in Mathematics and Physical Sciences was reaffirmed, with an outstanding 45 per cent of those who wrote Mathematics and 32 per cent of those who wrote Physical Sciences achieving a distinction. This compares to the IEB distinction rate of 22 per cent for Maths and 17 per cent for Physical Sciences for all IEB schools in the country. This is the fifth year in a row that Kearsney has achieved double the IEB distinction rates in these crucial subjects.
James Hansen and Cameron Lee, who also plays baseball for South Africa U18, earned six distinctions each, making it onto the IEB Commendable Achievement list. Almost a quarter of the Kearsney boys achieved four or more As and more than a third achieved three or more distinctions.
The school had a 100 per cent pass rate with almost 97 per cent receiving a university exemption pass rate.
Headmaster Elwyn van den Aardweg said that while academics was Kearsney’s number one priority, a holistic education is crucial and he is thrilled that the boys achieved such fantastic results while participating fully in the excellent sporting and cultural programmes at the College.
It was announced this week that Jabulani Nyathi is Kearsney’s fourth recipient of the prestigious Allan Gray Orbis Fellowship which provides a full scholarship for undergraduate studies, including tuition, text books, accommodation and a stipend for living expenses. The scholarship programme stresses mentorship and provides significant opportunities for professional development and networking.
Recipients are selected for their exceptional intelligence, academic ability, particularly in mathematics, superb communication skills and innate ability to ‘think out of the box’. Once formal education is complete, the foundation encourages work experience to compliment personal passion, purpose and skills development, so that its fellows move into areas of influence where they will effect lasting change and positive impact.
The foundation believes that high impact entrepreneurial leaders will dramatically contribute to positive economic, social and political change.
Jabulani plans to study chemical engineering at UCT next year, followed by a CFA.
