Home PodcastInayet Wadee The top matric achievers and their secrets to success

The top matric achievers and their secrets to success

by Luqmaan Rawat
The matric students have done excellently this year Photo Pexels

South Africa – The Department of Basic Education revealed that the matric class of 2022 achieved an overall pass rate of 80.1%. This is the second highest from 2019 and an improvement of 3.7% from last year. Amongst the 80.1% there were those who excelled and outdid the rest.

One of those was Aaliyah Patel, a student from St Teresa’s School, who achieved six distinctions and finished second in her class. Most of her support came from her parents who she feels handled having the stressful situation of a child in matric very well.

“Most of the support was from my parents because it is difficult to have a matriculant in the house because they’re under so much stress and pressure. I think my parents handled that very well and I know at times they would get a bit irritated with me but that’s okay. They provided me with so much support. They were there for me, always cheering me on, having my back, making Dua (praying) for me and sending out messages that everyone remembers me in their Duas and it really means so much. I couldn’t have done any of this without my parents. Especially my aunties, uncles and my grandparents.” 

SMread: Lenasia special school bags 100% matric pass rate!

 

The Adam sisters incredible achievement

Patel is not the only one who has excelled. Twin sisters Kauthar and Firdous Adam achieved eight and seven distinctions respectively. They both attended Crawford International College in Pretoria. For Kauthar, the eight distinctions was her crowning moment and what she has been working for her entire schooling life.

“It means a lot to me because I worked my whole schooling career for this. I worked a lot because it’s something that I really wanted to achieve. I wanted to show myself as well as others what I could do especially after last year. I didn’t receive the results I wanted so this year I really wanted to work on myself so that I could receive all of my distinctions.”

For Firdous, receiving seven distinctions is a welcomed shock as she didn’t feel too confident when she was writing her final exams. 

“I didn’t know how to feel because last year when I was writing the exams, I didn’t feel as confident as I usually feel when I write an exam. So I didn’t expect to get distinction in all of the subjects. I thought I was probably going to get about maybe five distinctions. So I was very happy when I received seven distinctions.”

 

To hear how Kauthar and Firdous pushed each other to success listen to the podcast here 

 

 

Kelly Prowse and achieving the top spot 

Rustenburg Girls High School will be celebrating after their very own, Kelly Grace Prowse not only attained first place in Mathematics but also came out first in Quintile 5. The DBE announced Prowse was the joint top learner overall in the 2022 NSC examinations. Battling Covid and loadshedding Prowse has credited her top finishing to her dedication and wonderful teachers.

“I think many years of diligence and motivation have helped. Really good, quality teachers who put their all into our education. I thank them dearly and my parents as well for supporting me from the background … Covid was definitely not easy. Loadshedding is definitely not a plus … With the help from teachers and a lot of work in my own time, I definitely managed to pull through. It did require a lot of dedication and work by myself but it was worth it in the end.”

 

Advice to fellow matriculants

Not everyone is going to finish their matric year on such a high. There will be those who either don’t make it or feel as if they didn’t get the marks they wanted. Patel’s advice is for everyone to remember matric doesn’t define the course of one’s life.

“I’d like people to know that matric doesn’t define who you are as a person and what you are capable of doing. We all write the same exams but not everyone is good at the same things. So before ending any matric final exams you need to realise that you are worth more than any exam that’s on the table as a person, as who you are, the things that you are good at. Your talents may not match what is in the exam paper on the table and you can be good at so many other things in life. There’s so much more than just exams and how many distinctions you’ve got.”

 

To hear what Aaliyah Patel said on how to pick your career listen to the podcast here 

 

 

Being the top achiever comes with its own struggles and hardships. Prowse knows what it takes to reach those stages and she was eager to give advice to this year’s matriculants on how to achieve that top spot.

“For those entering matric, I would say pace yourself. It’s a long year, lots of exams, super chaotic and busy. Consistency is key and just enjoy it as well. It is the last time with your friends, last time for that sort of camaraderie. Take it all in and just shoot for the stars.”

To hear what Kelly Prowse wants to do and her advice on getting to the top listen to the podcast here

 

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