Class of 2023 top achievers

NBharath said that she was in “disbelief” when she received her results.

“I counted three times before it set in that I had straight A’s,” Bharath said.

She said that once she understood and wrapped her head around her results, she was extremely happy.

She added that she could not believe that she managed to do so well in physics as she found the chemistry paper difficult. Bharath said that her biggest challenge was learning to cope with grief as her father died a few days before she started high school.

“What helped me work through the grief was my drive to do well in his memory,” Bharath said.

She will be studying actuarial sciences at the University of Pretoria as she wants to pursue a career that consistently challenges her. ikhiol said that he was extremely anxious on the day the results were released and overwhelmed with joy when he saw how well he had done. Nikhiol said that the biggest challenge in his schooling career was that he found English and Afrikaans difficult because he enjoyed subjects with numbers. Nikhiol said that with the help of his English teachers and his mother, he was able to improve his performance in the subject. He plans on studying actuarial sciences at the University of Pretoria as he has always enjoyed working through matters that involves numbers

The matric class of 2023 in Pietermaritzburg and the Midlands is celebrating excellent results, with several pupils achieving multiple distinctions and securing top positions in district and in the province.

Kharina Secondary School pupil Chandrika Prayojana Singh, who achieved eight distinctions, said she wanted to challenge herself by deciding to do nine subjects.

“I wanted to do something different from the usual flow and see the results of this challenge. I did not set a timetable for myself as one feels more pressure when they do not complete those goals for the day and it adds to the stress,” said Singh.

She obtained her distinctions in mathematics, english, physical sciences, life orientation, life sciences, accounting, business studies and economics.

Singh, who plans to study towards a career in either actuarial science, data science or mathematic statistics, said she has been provisionally accepted at the University of Cape Town and Witwatersrand to study one of her three choices.

She said she was the only pupil in her matric year who decided to choose nine subjects, which meant she did not have class time for economics or business studies.

“My school does not cater for nine subjects. So, I had to work on the two extra on my own. I did that during the holidays by working on a section at a time.

“Whenever I had extra time, I used that to do extra work and get assistance from my teachers.

“That is the secret; use the time you have, don’t leave things for a month and then decide you want to do things at the last minute. I started working on these subjects since Grade 10 and that made all the difference,” said Singh.

To de-stress, she played the guitar, volleyball and thunee with her family. Singh thanked all her teachers who collectively played a role in her success. She advised other pupils to “focus on your priorities” and not to “drop the ball”.

R