Rising above: Inside IEB class of 2023 top achievers’ journey

The wait has ended for the class of 2023 Independent Examinations Board (IEB) pupils. The IEB released its National Senior Certificate (NSC) results on Thursday.

With a 98,4% pass rate some of these individuals have exceeded expectations and achieved remarkable academic success.

“Work hard and smart, there’s no way around it.”

Khanya Mhlongo who was a deputy headboy of school in Hilton last year, is Hilton College’s Scholar of the year. He achieved seven distinctions, with an average of 91%. Khanya is also part of the top 1% in four of his subjects, namely Economics, English, History and Life Orientation.

Khanya has been admitted into Yale to study Economics, he is set to begin school in August. Khanya’s parents are excited and very proud of him. “It feels good to be able to make them proud after all the support they’ve given me,” he said.

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Speaking to The Citizen, Mhlongo gave advice to the class of 2024 telling them to not leave any room for doubts and regrets.

“Work hard and smart, there’s no way around it.”

“Squeeze every ounce of potential and once you’re done, ask yourself ‘is there more?'”

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“A dream of mine”

Serena Escola is one of the top achievers at Theodor Hetzl, she achieved seven distinctions and has been awarded the IEB Commendable Achievement Award. She is also part of the top 1% in the country for Life Sciences and Life Orientation.

Serena has always dreamed of studying Medicine because of the type of person she is, and her religion. “I’m excited to do Medicine, I’ve always wanted to do it. It is a dream of mine,” she said.

She has been provisionally accepted to study Medicine in most universities. “I am currently waiting for final admissions, which hopefully will come soon,” she told The Citizen.

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“The pressure pushed me to succeed”

Cameron Gall is one of Reddam House Helderfontein’s top achievers. He achieved eight distinctions and received an exceptional accolade for achieving 100% in Mathematics.

Gall told The Citizen that the biggest challenge he had to overcome was the pressure of what himself and other people expected him to achieve.

“What is good about the pressure, is that it pushed me to succeed. Also even though there was a lot of pressure, I still have my family, friends and teachers who helped me through thick and thin throughout the journey,” he said.

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Gall has been admitted to study Astro Physics at the University of Witwatersrand. Gall told The Citizen that he has always loved space and he aims to uncover untold truths.

“I am trying to find answers to questions that people don’t know. And what fascinates me the most is the beauty of space that’s captivating, even through the pictures of stars, nebula etc.”

“One step at a time”

Mitchell Kinsley-Williams is Radford High’s 2023 top achiever, with a total of eight distinctions.

Kinsley-Wilkins wants to study Actuarial Sciences. He is passionate about Mathematics and Statistics and always tries to improve himself by achieving the next thing.

“Actuary is the ultimate mathematical next step that incorporates many things that I am passionate about like Business, Statistics and Computer Sciences,” he told The Citizen.

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Mitchell advised the class of 2024 to take it easy, and not be pressured by the bad reputation that Matric comes with.

“Take it one step at a time, because it comes in bite-size chunks. But there is a lot to look forward to, like the Matric dance. Try to take everything as it comes and enjoy every step of the way.”