Cape Town - After a long and tough 2022 academic year, the Western Cape’s top learners who excelled in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams were celebrated for their achievements at a special awards ceremony hosted at Leeuwenhof, the official residence of Premier Alan Winde.
Officials from the Western Cape Education Department praised the outstanding results of its 2022 matric class and the five candidates who ranked among the best and the brightest in the country.
(2/2) 4) Alise Smit and 5) Christian Kotze Congratulations! #Classof2022 pic.twitter.com/WKPQHrvOAT
— WCEDNews (@WCEDnews) February 2, 2023
One was Kelly Prowse from Rustenburg Girls’ High School, who was recognised as the top candidate in quintile 5, the top candidate in maths, and the joint top candidate in the entire country.
Simone Louw from Bloemhof High School ranked second in quintile 5, while Kenneth Janson from Hoer Jongenskool Paarl was third in the same category.
Athenkosi Khonzani from the Centre of Science and Technology was awarded second place in the quintile 3 category.
Jason de Villiers from Rondebosch Boys’ High was the second-placed candidate for maths.
Education MEC David Maynier said that in spite of the challenges, the province’s pass rate increased to 81.4%, while at the same time achieving a retention rate of nearly 70%, resulting in 49 102 candidates passing their matric exams and eligible to apply to universities or colleges.
“The class of 2022 as a whole has had a tough time over the past few years. They missed so much class time during the Covid-19 pandemic, and in their matric year had to cope with load shedding and transport disruption.
“But, at the same time, our candidates, teachers and districts put in an incredible amount of effort into preparing for the matric exams,” Maynier said.
Winde wished all the achievers well for beating the odds and conquering the last 12 years amid significant challenges, such as load shedding, Covid-19 and even transport.
Addressing the learners, Winde said: “We are all faced with challenges ... but that is the nature of life and that is my challenge to you today. You have overcome despite all the odds over the last 12 years … you have proven to us and yourselves that you can excel, that you are top of the class, now it’s up to you to play your role in taking on those global challenges that we face as humanity.
“Whether it be taking on climate change challenges, energy challenges – there are challenges all over the place. But when there is a challenge there is an opportunity, there is a solution,” Winde said.
He added that the world was their oyster, it was theirs to conquer and to take up these opportunities and find solutions.