The country’s top matriculant received a hero’s welcome last week as learners from Paarl Boys High honoured the legend.
Ulrich le Roux from Melkbosstrand passed with an average of 97,86% and no less than seven distinctions – achieving the top position in the National Senior Certificate examination.
Ulrich, who will start a degree course in actuarial science at Stellenbosch University soon, said he was delighted with his results, attributing it to hard work and dedication.
“I want to thank all my teachers over the years, but a special word of thanks to my mom, Karen, who was a maths teacher at Boys’ High. She, however, helped me with all my subjects. My brother Henri, who is my role model, always pushed me to scale even the most impossible boundaries and I am grateful to him for that,” Le Roux says in a press statement.
The school says on their official Facebook page that they are extremely proud of le Roux and they wish him well in his future endeavours.
On Thursday, 20 January, le Roux attended a breakfast session with Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga at Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg.
Later that evening le Roux was honoured with a standing ovation from his fellow peers and some of the dignitaries that attended the announcing of the matric results.
On Thursday, Motshekga announced the pass rate for the 2021 cohort was 76,4%. This is an increase of 0,2 percentage points compared to the 2020 matric pass rate (76,2%).
Le Roux said during the announcement of the top achiever in the country that his achievement was unexpected.
“I feel very happy about it. It was quite unexpected but I am very pleased with how I did. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for me,” he said.
Motshekga indicated that this is an improvement of 21,9% passes from 2020 after the Western Cape matric pass rate dipped to 79,9%, for the first time since 2010, which meant it achieved under the 80% pass rate.
