Cape Town - Passing Grade 12 is worth celebrating, especially if you top your class, and more so when you are the leading matriculant in the province.
But what has become of some of those who’ve come out tops?
Most go on to study at a tertiary institution, already being accepted into university before their Grade 12 achievements are confirmed.
In the Western Cape, achieving the best Grade 12 results in the region is an even greater honour as the annual pass rate has been higher than the national figure.
In 2009, the pass rate in the province was 75.7%, and has since improved to remain above 80%.
Social media indicates that most of the Western Cape’s top achievers end up studying or living overseas, although some choose not be defined by their scholastic excellence or past glories.
ANIQUE KRUGER, who was the Western Cape’s top achiever in 2008
2008 - Anique Kruger (Westerford High School)
Age: 29
Current Occupation: Teacher (Head of International School English Department)
Current home town: Shanghai, China
I didn’t go directly into tertiary studies after matric. The plan was always to take a gap year to “figure out” what I wanted to do. I think I knew all along that I was going to go into the humanities, but there was a lot of pressure to do medicine because that’s what you’re “supposed to do if you’re smart”.
So I spent a year in London, and a little French town called Poitiers, and learnt the life lessons that the service industry has to teach.
A year later I started my BA at UCT, majoring in English literature and French literature.
After completing my BA and Honours degrees at UCT, I was awarded a Skye Foundation Scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in English literature at Brasenose College, Oxford.
What advice would you give to this year’s top achievers?
You’re a top achiever! Congratulations! Celebrate the moment but try to keep it in perspective. The difference between you and the student who came 21st or 100th in the province might be no more than a single slip in an equation, or a teacher who had a bad day, or a moment of distraction during a presentation.
The point is, there are countless factors that went into getting you on to the list and there are thousands of students out there who are as fabulously intelligent and hard working as you are, but who aren’t in the spotlight right now.
That’s not to say the recognition is meaningless, but it is just the first step in achieving excellence in whatever field you decide to pursue. Stay humble, stay on your toes and milk this CV point for all it’s worth.
NICOLE LESTER, who was the province’s top achiever in 2010.
2010 - Nicole Lester (Herschel Girls’ School)
Age: 27
Current Occupation: Management consultant
Current home town: London
I studied actuarial science at the University of Stellenbosch (both undergrad and Honours), I then did a Master’s in statistical sciences (machine learning) at the University of Oxford.
I have been very fortunate to travel over the last few years, and a clear highlight was a trip with friends to Iceland.
Getting into Oxford, and also doing well there, was a definite achievement for me. I think it is easy to believe that Oxford and all those elite universities are impossible to get into and that if you went there you’d have to work all the time to keep up, but really that isn’t the case.
I found the course load manageable, which also made me appreciate the high quality of education I got at the stats department at Stellenbosch. I had a good foundation, so could comfortably keep up with the content, and have enough time to experience everything else that the university has to offer, like beautiful dining halls and really interesting, smart people from all around the world.
What advice would you give to this year’s top achievers?
I think the most important thing for tertiary success is to find a subject/degree that you really enjoy, rather than focusing on pursuing a degree just because it is perceived as being a “good” degree to have.
This means that you will actually enjoy what you do, and it will be so much easier to stay motivated and inspired and ultimately, make the experience more rewarding.
Also, take advantage of all the other life experiences that university has to offer. I honestly think I learnt more outside the classroom than inside it!
I think a good group of supportive friends is the key here.
Yi-Tin Michelle Yuan, who was the province’s top achiever in 2014. PICTURES: Supplied
2014 - Yi-Tin Michelle Yuan (Rustenberg Girls’ High School)
Age: 22
Current occupation: Medical student
Current home town: Cape Town
I spent the year after I matriculated studying towards a business science degree, specialising in economics with law, at UCT. However, I quickly realised that I lacked passion for my chosen degree.
After months of soul searching, I decided to apply to transfer to medicine, a degree that I had never previously considered. I was subsequently accepted to study medicine and the following year I made the change.
I have recently finished my fourth year as a medical student. I would say that the biggest challenge I have had to face to date was the decision to change degrees.
Throughout high school I was never sure of what I wanted to study, and so when it came time to apply for university, I did the due research into my options. Thus, when I applied to study economics with law, I honestly thought that that was what I was going to do.
I never could have foreseen that it was not something that I would enjoy studying. It was a challenge in that first year of studying to acknowledge that that was not where my passions lay and, moreover, to take the time
to re-examine who I was, what I wanted to do, and what my purpose in life was.
What advice would you give to this year’s top achievers?
I think that all of you have the potential to succeed in almost everything you set your mind to, but success is simply not enough. What is harder to achieve than success is fulfilment, because fulfilment requires one to look deep within one’s soul and to have the courage to do what sets it alight.
To echo the words of Tata Madiba: “There is no passion in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
When looking back on my school years, my highlights, of course, include celebrations of academic success, but they also include the experiences I had as a committee member of a number of societies, my time in the boarding house at Rustenburg Girls’ High School and the moments that I spent bonding with friends.
I am someone who does not like to dwell on the negatives in life and I try to live without having regrets, and so in retrospect, I would not do anything differently.
ANDREW JOHN TUCKER, who was the province’s top achiever in 2015.
2015 - Andrew John Tucker (SACS)
Age: 22
Current Occupation: Medical student
Current home town: Cape Town
I began studying medicine at UCT in 2016 and completed my first three years of the six-year degree before taking a year out to complete a BMedSci Honours degree in neuroscience.
I am now returning to my fourth year of medicine.
I have recently been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to further my studies in neuroscience at Oxford University in 2020.
I’ll take up the scholarship before returning home to finish my medical degree.
What advice would you give to this year’s top achievers?
We often place our goals into very narrowly-defined boxes and view our prospects at university in very linear ways, ie completing a four-year degree to become an accountant, a lawyer, an engineer or a doctor.
This doesn’t have to be the case and my advice would be to do something which is going to bring you your own fulfilment in life, something that you are passionate about.
If this passion helps give back
to society in some way, then all the better!
I worked consistently throughout my school career, which brought a number of high points along the way. This consistent hard work culminated in my achievement at the end of
matric.
Having been privileged enough to attend a fantastic school like SACS, there were very few low points along the way and I am immensely grateful for the learning environment which the school provided.
This helped shape me into who I am today, both as an academic and a person.