Sitting in East London where the province’s top achievers were announced on Friday afternoon, Collegiate Girls’ High School matriculant Frances Brummer became increasingly nervous as the countdown to the number one spot continued.
Brummer tied in second place with Aiswarya Mathew, of Queenstown Girls’ High School.
The top spot was nabbed by Laai’qah Bedford, of Hudson Park High School in East London.
The province’s overall pass rate improved by almost five percentage points, from 68.1% in 2020 to 73% in 2021.
For Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, it was “the proudest moment” of his tenure.
Separately, the top pupils in the Nelson Mandela Bay district were Jaimie Miller, of Collegiate, and Tiaan Bouwer, of Framesby Hoërskool, who tied for first.
Included among the top 10 overall achievers in the province were Brummer and Mathew, tied for second, and Pearson High School’s Jodie Crockett and Ayanda Mathayi, of Tlokweng Senior Secondary School in Sterkspruit, who tied for ninth.
Another outstanding achievement came from Solomon Mahlangu High School in KwaNobuhle, and Motherwell High School, with pupils Ukhanye Mwezo and Zikhona Mtimkulu coming in first and second place respectively in the category of pupils in historically disadvantaged schools.
Brummer said she was extremely happy with her results, which were better than she had expected.
“I’m particularly chuffed with my language marks,” she said.
Brummer scored 90% for English home language, 96% for Afrikaans first additional language, 97% for mathematics, 97% for physical science, 96% for French, 93% for life sciences and 99% for life orientation.
“The last two years were challenging. Online classes were definitely something to adapt to, and you needed the discipline to work more at home.
“But I enjoyed being able to work at my own pace and spend more time on the subjects that needed it.”
She was looking forward to a week of downtime as she made her final preparations to leave for Stellenbosch University next week, where she will be studying medicine.
Provincially, the number of bachelor passes increased by 4.1% from 30% in 2020 to 34.1% last year.
The district with the highest number of bachelor passes was Buffalo City Metro (42.9%), followed by Nelson Mandela Bay (39.2%) and Amathole West (35.9%).
More female pupils attained bachelor passes (34.7%) compared to their male counterparts (33.8%), but when it came to overall achievements, the boys narrowly beat the girls.
Crockett, 18, of Summerstrand, had not expected to be placed in the top 10.
She said during the various lockdowns she was able to achieve what she had due to effective time management.
Bouwer, 18, of Kamma Park, was extremely grateful to receive the news that he was joint top pupil overall in the district.
“I wasn’t expecting this at all, I expected to do well, but not this,” he said.
Off to study accounting and computer sciences at Nelson Mandela University, Bouwer said lockdown had taught him to work alone and to decide when and how much effort to put into his work.
Miller was not at the awards as she was hiking with relatives in Kenya.
Pearson High School deputy principal Haldane Pienaar said they were incredibly pleased with their 100% pass rate, which was testimony to the matrics’ hard work.
“To be honest, this group of learners exceeded our expectations. They came from a very disjointed year in grade 11, and had a lot of catching up to do. But they showed a lot of drive and determination to make the year a success.”
He was particularly proud of the school’s top achievers, Sharon McKinnon and Crockett.
McKinnon, 18, of Mangold Park, was placed first in the district’s Cluster B.
The Bay, Buffalo City, Amathole East, Amathole West, Sarah Baartman and Chris Hani West fall under Cluster B.
“In my heart of hearts I had hoped I would place somewhere but it was an unexpected surprise to place first, and the day was very special,” she said.
McKinnon said she hoped to go into the medical field or enjoy a career in writing.
Victoria Park High School secured a 98.5% pass rate, and despite three pupils failing to make the cut, acting principal Adrian Jansen said they were pleased with the outcome.
“The class of 2020 had to overcome many challenges, while the class of 2021 were able to return to school full-time, and the difference is clear.
“Some kids I’ve spoken were pleasantly surprised with their marks, which I believe is a good sign,” Jansen said.
Hoërskool DF Malherbe also boasted a pupil in the top achievers in the province.
Charne Bronkhorst secured distinctions in eight subjects.
The school managed a 96.9% pass rate and principal Penny Vosloo said they would work on improving this year.
Placing second in District Cluster B, Bronkhorst, 18, of Kamma Park, said it was surprising to receive the award.
“I didn’t expect this at all but I knew I would do well. Once we were allowed to choose subjects, I began performing well.”
Passing with eight distinctions, Bronkhorst will pursue English literature, psychology and communications at Varsity College.
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