Letsibogo Girls High sees a slight drop in 2023 class

Top performing Letsibogo Girls High School in Meadowlands achieves an outstanding 97.91% matric pass rate, a slight drop compared to the 99.6% at the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.

Scenes of jubilation and excitement filled the school’s hall as scores of matriculants collected their matric results on Friday.

“These are good results by your normal standards but not for Letsibogo. We were expecting 99 to 100%.

“For the last 12 years or so that is the level of caliber we have been producing and have never gotten anything below that or have this number of learners fail.

“It’s for the first time. When we look at our performance in previous years, for us this is not where we were expecting to be as we always target higher,” said school principal, Ellen Mathopo.

Despite the drop, the institution, which is one of the leading schools in Soweto, obtained 225 bachelor passes, 45 diplomas and 12 higher certificates.

According to further statistics, from the 288 learners who sat down for exams, only six learners failed.

The school’s top achieving learner, Lwandile Dubazane, an aspiring chartered accountant obtained seven distinctions in Accounting, Business Studies, Economics, Maths literacy, English, IsiZulu and Life Orientation.

“I actually did not believe it and thought they would say they are joking. Things were not easy at home financially and that pushed me to focus all my efforts into my studies. I didn’t even have a phone, so all my time was spent studying,” Dubazane said.

She added that she wanted her performance to inspire other learners that achieving top results was also possible at a township school.

“I didn’t have a specific study method; hence I always say to people they must study according to their strengths.

“I never studied throughout the night, but every day I would revise and make notes of what I didn’t understand. Today is testament that our backgrounds do not determine what the future holds.”

Reabestwe Khumalo who got six distinctions told Urban News that she credits her mother’s teachings and support for her achievements.

“I was aiming for seven distinctions, but I am grateful for the results I was able to achieve. I almost didn’t write my exams after losing my ID twice. I was on the verge of being depressed, there were a lot of things that went wrong, but I gave it my best for all the papers and could not have done it without God,” said the 17-year-old.

“I have been accepted at the University of the Witwatersrand to study for a Bachelor of Pharmacy, where I hope to branch into pharmacology after my degree and be at the forefront of creating life changing vaccines and drugs.”

A proud Grace, who accompanied Khumalo said: “From a young age she has always excelled in her studies and produced distinctions every year.

“I could not be more proud of what she has managed to do. I am unemployed and relied on social grant to support my children and never has she complained. I always emphasize on education as a foundation.”

Principal Mathopo credits the school’s academic success to the dedication and commitment of educators and learners at the school.

“We are putting in time and motivation towards supporting these learners. We have morning classes; on weekends we are at school and even have cross-night classes to bring out their full potential.

“I am a geography teacher myself, the subject obtained 100% and 23 distinctions, so we know that it is possible. We work closely one-on-one with those who are not performing well so we are proud of our students,” she added.