Matric 2022 results: At least seven sets of twins among top achievers

Having twins achieving academic excellence is one thing, but the 2022 IEB matric class has at least seven sets of twins that bagged plenty of distinctions.

The IEB matric results were released on Wednesday with a pass rate of 98.42% being recorded.

Twins among top achievers

One set of twins, Roald and Armand Carstens from St Stithians Boys’ College in Johannesburg, are so alike that they achieved the same aggregate marks in their final exams as well as the preliminary exams.

They also both achieved a full house of distinctions.

The brothers are both studying medicine in 2023 with Armand wanting to become a neurosurgeon and Roald aiming to be an anaesthesiologist.

Armand said the main academic challenge he faced during matric was burnout.

“To get over it I did the things that I enjoy such as art, sport (cricket and rugby) and spent time away from academics with my friends,” he said.

The 2022 matric class is said to be the most affected academically by the Covid pandemic. It, however, did not bother Roald.

“I’m an introverted person and thus was able to cope during lockdown and Covid quite well. I am very close to my brother and my family, who all provided much support,” he said.

Twins excel despite losing mother to Covid

Rachel and Emma Jacobs got a combined 11 distinctions in 2022, which is even more remarkable considering the pain they suffered while writing exams in Grade 11.

The twins from Crawford International Ruimsig kept up the high standards of their schoolwork despite their mother passing away during their Grade 11 midyear exams.

“She was our greatest cheerleader and inspired us to reach for the stars. We were determined to continue to work hard towards achieving the goals we always spoke to her about,” they said.

Rachel got six distinctions in Afrikaans, English, dramatic arts, life orientation, life sciences and mathematics. She will be studying medicine at the University of Pretoria.

Emma got 5 distinctions in Afrikaans, English, life orientation, life sciences and visual arts. She will also be attending the University of Pretoria to study dentistry.

“Since our mother’s passing, we strived to make her proud in every aspect of our lives,” the sisters said.

ALSO READ: Matric results: 2022 IEB class gets ‘outstanding’ 98.42% pass rate after being hit hardest by Covid

Their mother inspired Emma and Rachel to become medical professionals.

“We specifically chose these paths in our lives because our whole life we had to witness our mom struggle through a variety of complicated illnesses that the doctors were unable to treat. Our mother also had osteoporosis as a result of high cortisol levels which lead to issues with her teeth which ultimately affected her self-confidence.”

“Our goals in life are to help those who feel helpless as a result of complicated illnesses as well as to both literally and figuratively bring smiles to people’s faces.”

Watch: Matric pupil’s good exam results required sacrifice

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‘Hard work’

Christiaan and Carla Botes, from Helpmekaar Kollege in Johannesburg, said hard work is behind their exceptional matric results.

The twins got 24 distinctions, with Christiaan obtaining 14 and Carla 10.

Speaking to JacarandaFM, Christiaan said: “I worked hard. I studied late at night and it worked for me”.

Carla said her good marks did not come naturally.

“It was a lot of hard work. It didn’t come naturally but through a lot of hard work, a lot of time and effort I was able to pull it off. I was hoping for it but I didn’t expect it.”

Three sets of twins at one school

Remarkably, King Davids High School in Johannesburg had three sets of twins in 2022 which got 41 distinctions collectively.

According to a report in IOL, Kelsey and Chad Bernitz wanted to make their mother proud after their father committed suicide.

“We continued to strive to do well so that our mother and the rest of the family would be proud,” said Chad.

Tyla and Jamie Shur were among the school’s top achievers with seven distinctions each and a 90% average.

The school’s third set of twins, Cody and Cassidy Levy, achieved nine and six distinctions respectively.

Family tragedy

Crawford College in Pretoria also boasted a set of twins as their top performers.

Kauthar and Firdous Adam achieved their success despite also suffering a family tragedy.

Firdous completed matric with an average of 86.15% and seven distinctions. Kauthar had an average of 86% and eight distinctions.

“It’s hard to keep motivated when you study so much. I had two family members, of which one was like a mother to me pass away during the June exams. That was very difficult for me. She was part of who I am, so it was hard,” said Kauthar.

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