‘Opening the doors of education’
Thapelo pips peers to the post with five distinctions in exams.
Thapelo Makgotla from Meadowlands Zone 3 counts himself among the crop of matriculants who made the cut. He matriculated from St Martin and to him, matric posed a major challenge because of the pressure from teachers and students as well as the healthy competition which exists between schools.
He said, “In our communities, people are defined through the adulation they receive from their peers for doing wrong. I wanted to make a difference and chose to go in the opposite direction.”
Makgotla said that one thing which kept him focused throughout the exams was a quote from deceased rapper 2Pac, who said, ‘Through every dark night there is a brighter day,’ which motivated him to fix his eyes firmly on the prize.
“Obtaining four distinctions was not a walk in the park. I had to put in extra effort, study hard and work beyond my expectations- my focus was matric. I would leave home in the morning and come back later on after studying at school with my friends.”
According to Makgotla, when he reached matric, during the first term he passed with level sevens in all subjects, but his marks dropped in the second term and his teachers told him to not give up, but to remain focused.
He added, “This made me realise that I was capable of passing matric. After the preliminary exams, I upped my game and my hard work paid off during the final exams. The problem is that learners in the general stream are looked down on by their peers.”
He credited his family’s support throughout the year for his achievements and said that he was driven by an overwhelming desire to make them proud.
Makgotla continued, “One thing matriculants should know is that matric starts the minute you enter that class and you need to start studying from day one, do study groups if it works for you and more.”
Makgotla will be furthering his studies as he believes that matric is a key which opens many doors. All you need is to know what prize lies in wait for you as you inch closer to the final examinations.
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