"Our 2011 matric results are more quality than quantity," said Khutliso Daniels Secondary School principal Zonwabele Mcuba – delighted that pupils had improved the Joza school's matric pass rate by 10% – from 54% in 2010 to 64% in 2011.
"Our 2011 matric results are more quality than quantity," said Khutliso Daniels Secondary School principal Zonwabele Mcuba – delighted that pupils had improved the Joza school's matric pass rate by 10% – from 54% in 2010 to 64% in 2011.
According to Mcuba, the school had 13 matric pupils at the beginning of the year. Two dropped out and 11 candidates wrote the final exams. Of the 11, seven passed. One qualified for Bachelor's Degree, five for Diploma entry and one for a Higher Certificate. Mcuba told Grocott's Mail that the Lima Programme the school had adopted last year, in which pupils attended extra classes, had helped them improve on the previous year's results.
The school's soup kitchen, launched last March, had helped the pupils cope with their long school days, which started at 8am and ended at 6pm, Mcuba said. The soup kitchen was sponsored by the Apostolic Faith Mission, God's Glory Assembly and Pick 'n Pay, who supplied the school with bread.
"The programme helped our learners a lot, because they were studying in front of their teachers and got help when ever they needed it," said Mcuba. Mthunzi Ngono, 18, the school's 2011 top achiever and who qualified for a Bachelors Degree, thanked the teachers for the support they had given him throughout the year. "I don't have words to express how I feel, but I would like to thank the school for always being there for us," he said.
Ngono got 68% for accounting, and 70% for Business Studies. He told Grocott's Mail he planned to study B.Comm Accounting at Fort Hare University this year.
Meanwhile, the matric pass rate at Mary Waters High School dropped from 70.1% in 2010 to 53.3%. Of 111 matric candidates last year, only 58 passed, with Lesley Anne-Prince obtaining two distinctions – in Life Orientation and Afrikaans.
Deputy Principal Eric Jonklass attributed the drop to wrong subject choices from Grade 10. “I can't put a finger on it. Our teachers went the extra mile to help the kids," said a disappointed Jonklass.
