Jada is bright spark in SA
Grade 11 Stirling High pupil Jada Freeman has earned recognition as one of the top three accounting pupils in the country.
At a recent 2018 South African Institute of Professional Accountants (Saipa) National Accounting Olympiad (NAO) in Johannesburg, the 17-year-old Jada received the Saipa award for achieving some of the highest marks in the country.
The Saipa NAO is in its second year and it opens up an opportunity for pupils in Grades 11 and 12 to take part in the national olympiad.
“The aim of the Saipa NAO is to make accounting as a subject a preferred choice to all learners, and to promote the option of professional accountancy as a sound choice for further study, and the pathway towards a financially and personally rewarding entry into employment,” said Zobuzwe Ngobese, marketing and business development executive at Saipa.
This year 478 schools entered the olympiad, with 6,700 pupils writing the first round (2,842 in Grade 11 and 3,858 in Grade 12). Round 2 of the NAO was written on August 1 2018 – 274 schools went through to the second round; with 999 pupils writing (572 in Grade 11 and 427 in Grade 12).
Freeman, along with 10 other pupils from the EC, made it to the top 75 in the country to the prestigious awards in Johannesburg where Freeman took third place nationally.
The competition generated 75 provincial winners who were honoured at a formal gala awards evening in Johannesburg where the three pupils with highest marks in the country were announced.
“We always endeavour to keep track of the winners’ progress throughout their tertiary education to ensure that our intervention is continuous and sustainable and not just a onceoff event,” said Ngobese.
Jada said: “It still feels unreal to me, I was not expecting to get this far when I entered the olympiad, I’m even more proud as I have just been recently named as headgirl for 2019.”