DURBAN - Westville Girls' High School pupil, Colombe Cynthia Obono Eyono, was the named KwaZulu-Natal’s top matric achiever yesterday.
Cynthia, who will be attending Harvard University in the US, was among the top matric pupils in the province who were awarded for their achievements at an event held by the provincial education department yesterday.
After receiving her accolades, Cynthia said she was overwhelmed with her achievement.
She said that studying during the midst of the pandemic was extremely difficult, and it affected her mental health.
“This achievement just means so much more due to the number of sacrifices I had to make. There was a lot of stress and anxiety during the year. Wanting to inspire other girls not only in my school, but the whole of KZN kept me going,” she said.
She said that being accepted at one of the most prestigious universities in the world was a dream come true.
Cynthia said she had not yet decided what she was going to study but she had an interest in economics and African studies.
She urged this year’s matric pupils to prioritise their mental health during their studies.
“When your health is not in shape, nothing else will come into place,” she added.
Cynthia will be jetting off to the US in August.
Shaheen Govender from Westville Boys’ High, who came second in the province, described his matric year as stressful and draining.
He said that what made it difficult was having to maintain self-discipline and work at his own pace away from school during the hard lockdown.
“I am very proud of myself and my peers for the efforts we put into our work. It was a very difficult year, but we managed to pull through. I was also very surprised to be among the top learners in the province, however, I did work hard throughout the year,” he said.
Govender said that he is going to be pursuing medicine at UCT this year.
In third place in the province was Southlands Secondary School pupil Jordane Hannah Vartharajulu, who said she had been surprised by her achievements as the matric year had been stressful.
She said that studying under the lockdown was extremely challenging and demanded her to adapt quickly to a new way of learning.
“It was hard, not being with my friends and being away from study groups was hard, but hard work is the only thing that put me here today. I am very grateful for the support I received from my school and also my parents. They truly did play a vital role in my achievements,” she said.
She said she would be studying Actuarial Science at UCT.
The other top achievers included:
– Dipika Somaroo from Effingham Secondary School who placed fourth
– Sanam Maharaj from Greenbury Secondary School in Phoenix and Hemal Niranjan Harkhu from Westville Boys’ High were both placed in fifth position
– Vaman Ramessur from Umkomaas Secondary School and Shreya Nair from Danville Girls’ High shared sixth place
– Westville Boys’ High pupil Kiarin Naidoo took seventh place
– Eighth place was shared by Akshar Kanaye from Greytown Secondary School and Kiash Nadasen Baldeo from Seatides Combined School.
The Mercury