Durban - Tough, surreal and exciting is how Sanelisiwe Matubatuba, a matriculant of Margate Middle School, described her last year of high school at Durban’s ICC, where she was rewarded for succeeding against the odds.
With seven As, Sanelisiwe came second in the Ugu education district, the best performing district in the province.
Port Shepstone High School’s Che Habib was the top pupil in the district.
Sanelisiwe said the year started on a rough note for Grade 12s at the school as there was a new principal and no maths and physics teachers for the first few weeks of the first term.
“Our maths teacher who taught us in Grade 11 had to become our Grade12 maths teacher, and she had never taught Grade 12. She helped us do the best we could.”she said.
Sanelisiwe said the matriculants were able to persevere by helping each other, especially those in the one pure maths class at the school.
She said that since the release of the matric results she had been caught in a whirlwind of emotions.
“This is the second awards ceremony my mother and I have been to this week. On Tuesday there was one at our school where I was announced dux. My mother could not be more proud of me. I am very indecisive about where I want to study,” she said.
Sanelisiwe has been accepted at both UCT and Wits to study medicine.
She was also announced as the best performing pupil in physics in the Ugu district.
Lindokuhle Mvelase, of Groutville High School in the Ilembe district, also scored seven As.
“We all had to work hard at studying; we made sacrifices,” he said.
Lindokuhle was the top-performing pupil in maths in his district.