Cape Town – The Grade 12 pupils affected by the recent fires in Khayelitsha and Philippi say they are determined to pass with flying colours after overwhelming support from the public, communities and their schools.
The nine students were among more than 53700 full-time candidates across the Western Cape who wrote their first National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam yesterday.
Sinethemba Senior Secondary School principal Nelson Poopedi said the school was doing all it could to assist their affected pupils to prepare for maths, their next exam.
“Only one of the pupils is still in need of a uniform, so she wrote wearing her home clothes.
“I spoke to them after the exam and I believe they did their best and will continue to do so. They already have textbooks and we provided a space for them to study.
“I am proud that they are not making excuses not to write, as they see themselves moving their families out of informal settlements in future.
“The public can continue to help, as we also have a Grade 8 pupil who was affected.”
Sesethu Mgwebi, a matric pupil at Zisukhanyo Secondary School in Philippi, revealed that she had lost hope initially when she lost her revision notes and textbooks.
Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Jessica Shelver said: “We have received information from schools that five NSC candidates from Khayelitsha lost their homes in the fire and four candidates that attend Sinethemba SS in Phillippi. All wrote English Paper 1.”