Matriculants at De Kuilen High School celebrated an impressive 98,9% pass rate with the release of the results last week.
The class of 2023 has nine learners with A-aggregates and 201 (71,5%) of the 281 matrics passed with admission to university for a Bachelors-degree.
This is no mean feat considering several challenges.
Principal Herman Mellet said the class of 2023 was the school’s biggest enrolled for a National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination since 2015.
“As a result of Covid we had almost 20 learners who either lost at least one parent or sibling since enrolling at De Kuilen,” he pointed out. “Many parents also lost their income and the number of learners who had to be supported by the school increased dramatically since 2020.
“The staff worked extremely hard throughout the year, and in June last year most of the matrics wrote their first formal examination since their enrolment at the school.”
One of the school’s top achievers lost her mother and sister during the pandemic.
“Her father died just before the September examination, and she only has a brother who had to support her. Despite these setbacks, she still obtained distinctions and excellent results.”
Mellet said staff went out of their way to support many of the learners. “Households were given groceries and teachers paid to ‘uber’ learners to and from the school during the November examinations.”
Mathematics
Last year during the September holidays the school followed an intensive revision programme for mathematics. Mellet said the School Governing Body (SGB) made funds available for catering purposes and almost all mathematics learners attended the “Spring School”.
Mathematics and mathematical literacy were among 11 subjects for which the class of 2023 achieved a 100% pass rate.
“De Kuilen High School must be one of few schools where all learners passed mathematics,” Mellet said.
“Of the 20 subjects offered, 18 had a pass rate of more than 92%. Truly remarkable.”
The matrics also achieved a 100% pass rate for Afrikaans, English, computer applications technology, consumer studies, engineering graphics and design, information technology, life orientation, music, tourism, and visual arts.
Mellet said 92,8 % of the 2023 class overcame the odds of Covid, job losses and many more challenges. “The staff of De Kuilen High School worked extremely hard to ensure they had fond memories of their high school careers, despite the devastating effects of Covid.”
Dux learner
Liyah Charles topped De Kuilen’s Class of 2023, with an average of 87,57% and eight subject distinctions, followed by Claire Gelderbloem and Savannah Eager.
Liyah, an avid reader whom one can normally find with her nose in some or other book (often sci-fi), will study medicine (MBChB) at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
For her the hardest part of matric was to keep motivated through the final stretch. “At the end of the year, as one has already studied all that work and written on it in prelims, one almost doesn’t have the desire to study it again for the final exams.”
Liyah has this advice for this year’s matrics: “It may sound counter-productive, but don’t take it too seriously. It is a big year, but if that one maths test didn’t go too well it’s okay, at the end everything will work out. Just remain consistent. If you just put in bit by bit each day it makes it easier when exams come around.”
De Kuilen’s other A-aggregates were: Anushka Rasiet, Amberley Swart, Nuraan Roman, Jay-Leigh Lenee, Leanne Farao, and Junaid Slinger.
