Avatar photo

By News24 Wire

Wire Service


‘It’s been a rough one, but I’ve done it’ – Joburg matriculant bags 8 distinctions

Crawford College pupil Motlodiwa Modise plans to fulfil her dream of studying Actuarial Science at Wits University this year.


Wise beyond her years, Motlodiwa Modise, a 2019 matric pupil at Crawford College in Sandton, Johannesburg, has big plans after she achieved eight distinctions.

On Tuesday, many independent school matriculants breathed a sigh of relief as their long wait for their exams results came to an end.

The young Modise glowed with pride and a shy smile as she remembered the “rough” year she had gone through.

“We started off at like 11:00 last night, I got my results and I’m quite proud of myself,” she said.

“I’ve really pulled through. It’s been a rough one, but I’ve done it.”

She plans to fulfil her dream of studying Actuarial Science at Wits University this year.

“When I grew up I was always that kid who didn’t [know what I wanted to do]. I didn’t want to be a nurse, I didn’t want to be a doctor, or an astrophysicist.

“It took me a while to get the point where [I found] something different that suits me, because I was just never that kid,” she said.

As a young black woman aiming for the stars, Modise said she has already made a difference at the school.

“When I got to Crawford and when I was looking at results throughout the years, I always looked at their pictures and you never see a South African black person or a black girl up there.

“When I got to high school I said, ‘that is what I want to do’,” Modise explained.

And she achieved just that. With eight distinctions, she finally got to see her own face along with other top achievers.

“I think it comes down to realising that you do make a huge impact,” Modise said.

She added that, in today’s world, people wanted inspiration.

“It is something so encouraging to see a black girl up there and I just think that it’s so amazing and something we should work towards, obviously with the right support,” Modise said.

“If another girl younger than me sees this, she’s going to be so inspired and if just one person is happy about it then, I mean, that’s just great.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.

Read more on these topics

matric results

For more news your way

Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.