Matric class of 2022 shows resilience

The matriculants of 2022 should be proud of themselves because they have succeeded despite having irregular schooling since Grade 9 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said the principals of two CBD schools, Gardens Commercial High School and Cape Town High School.

The matric results of 2022 were released to pupils on Friday January 19. Cape Town High School achieved a pass rate of 92.9 %, down from 95.7% in 2021, and Gardens Commercial High School’s 92.3% pass rate also decreased slightly from 2021’s 93.1%.

Despite the slight drop in the pass rate, the principals were proud of the achievements, saying the matriculants of 2022 faced the most challenges, but still managed to maintain the pass rate at both schools.

Dylan Tommy, the principal of Gardens Commercial High school, said people need to take into account that the matric class of 2022 hadn’t written formal examinations from Grade 9 until the preliminary exams in September last year.

“When they started Grade 10, the Covid-19 lockdown was implemented, and they just wrote regular tests, and in Grade 11 they were still on a rotational basis at school.”

He said at the end of Grade 11, the pupils wrote smaller tests than the usual examinations, and they did not write a June exam either, as they had lots of catching up to do with teaching. “Exams are important because they need the practice. The first time they wrote an exam was in their preliminary exams, a few weeks before their finals.”

The matric class at Gardens Commercial was dealt another blow when one of the pupils, Siyakudumisa Peter, died in a mass shooting in Khayelitsha on March 20. Six people, including Siyakudumisa, were killed when three gunmen opened fire at Enkanini informal settlement.

Mr Tommy said while the pupils used Siyakudumisa’s death as a motivation to pass the year in his memory, it was still traumatic, added to the trauma of the pandemic, and also financial trauma some of the families went through having lost jobs and businesses due to the pandemic.

But despite this, Mr Tommy said they were still pleased with the results. “It has been difficult for them - the matric class of 2021 had normal Grade 10 and 11 school years, and the matriculants of 2022 had their last proper schooling in Grade 9 until matric, and they had to deal with all the difficulties that came with that.

“For this matric class- and I’m talking countrywide - for them to still have performed is an amazing achievement. They are the strongest matric group in terms of resilience and determination.”

The top pupil at Gardens Commercial High School, Mary Mhone, from Kensington, received an aggregate of 76.1%. She said she cannot believe she was first in the grade, and was ecstatic.

She said going to Grade 12 was scary, but she wrote down her goals, pushed extra hard, and prayed along with her family, who were supportive of her.

Ms Mhone, who is originally from Malawi, said she was reluctant to apply to university because as a foreigner, it is difficult to be accepted into a tertiary institute. “The uncertainty is scary because we are not South African and it is extra hard for us, but I was accepted for accounting at Cape Peninsula University of Technology.”

She encouraged other foreign students to try to apply before they become despondent.

Another pupil, Amber Waldergrave, from Belhar finished fifth in the grade with 69.9%, after a rough start to the year with “okay” marks.

A shocked Ms Waldergrave did a double-take when Mr Tommy congratulated her on her improvement. “I was very surprised. I wasn’t sure on how well I did when I was writing.

“It was so overwhelming, but all I can say is you just need to pull yourself together and get it done.

Ms Waldergrave will study human resources or public management next year.

Cape Town High School principal, Emilton Cloete, said while the pass rate had decreased, it was understandable because the pupils had emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic and only had full schooling from February 2022, all while dealing with the emotional struggles and shortcomings. “This was an achievement.”

He said in September 2022, the matriculants did not do too well compared to other schools, because it was the first exam they had written since 2019. “I think that was when learners realised they had to put in more effort to pass, so we are excited and moved by the fact that they managed to achieve.”

He said the matriculants went through added difficulties with some of them falling ill, and many who couldn’t make it to school during the taxi strike in November 2022, so they wrote at other venues.

“Sometimes we don’t give the learners enough credit, but I think they are indeed a resilient group. The fact that they have shown us that they could still achieve speaks to their resilience. They did exceptionally well despite the difficulties.”

He said this year, he hopes that the current matrics will do better as they had had a full school year, and they were improving their support programmes.

Zenande Bholoti, 17, from Gugulethu, passed with three distinctions despite having missed a whole term due to a surgery on her back because of scoliosis.

Zendande said she did not have resources to work from during her healing time, during which she dealt with constant pain, therapy and learning to walk and sit again.

She said it was a sad time for her because she loved school. While many told her she should take a gap year, she refused, because she worked really hard to get to matric.

“I had to manage throughout all terms, and I was behind and I had to teach myself and looked for tutors. It was very hard financially on my parents, but I always trusted that I could do what I can to get the Bachelor’s pass with three distinctions and I did it! This is crazy.”

Zendande said she was very excited for her future, which looked very bright for her. She will be studying psychology.

Cape Town High School’s top student, Mezaan Manzoni, passed with an aggregate of 82.6%. Despite numerous phone calls, he could not be reached for comment

The Western Cape MEC of Education, David Maynier, said the Western Cape matric class of 2022 had beaten the odds and increased the provincial matric pass rate to 81.4%, with 49 102 candidates passing their exams – the largest number of successful candidates ever. “This was the biggest matric class we have ever had, with 2 629 extra candidates compared to last year, and our highest exam turnout rate since 2015.”

He said what made this achievement all the more extraordinary was that the matrics of 2022 were at the greatest disadvantage due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and other disruptions during the exam period, including a trimmed curriculum, no exam practice for Grade 10 and 11, ongoing load shedding and the taxi violence.

“Congratulations to our class of 2022 – a fantastic set of achievements of which we can all be very proud!”