By Chris Totobela All roads led to JD Dlepu stadium this past Saturday. On show was the Hollywood Bets Regional League clash between hosts City Pirates and XI Attackers in a highly anticipated local derby that has never failed to produce fireworks. Local football lovers packed JD Dlepu Stadium in Joza, creating a great atmosphere for both teams. The game started with both teams playing cautiously and weighing each other while waiting for openings. It did not take long before both teams threw caution to the wind and started attacking each other. Attackers’ ball retention and rotation was superb while…
Author: Luvuyo Mjekula
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By Ashley Westaway In January 2024, the city’s education community adopted a vision statement: “By 2028, Makhanda emerges as the leading academic educational centre and city in South Africa and is recognised as such, thereby affording all local children and young people the benefit of good quality and relevant education at pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary levels.” This analysis of the performance of our schools and students in the 2024 National Senior Certificate examinations gauges the extent to which we have made progress towards reaching this ambitious objective over the past twelve months. The methodology that I use for the…
By Staff Reporter Kingswood College are delighted to announce another set of terrific results with a 100% pass and 93% Bachelor Degree pass. 2024 Dux and Deputy Head Boy Jason Connan did not shrink from his potential when he clinched 8 A’s for Afrikaans FA, English HL, IT, LO, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Further Studies Mathematics. This following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who were also top achievers at Kingswood College, where they attended school. Jason’s father, James, was runner-up to Dux in his year (1991) while Jason’s grandfather, Ernest, was Dux at Kingswood in…
By Luvuyo Mjekula The national matric pass rate has soared from 82.9% in 2023 to more than 87% in 2024, the highest in the history of South Africa. This was announced by Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube as she delivered the National Senior Certificate (NSC) matric results in Johannesburg a short while ago. The Free State came first with a pass rate of 94%, with the Eastern Cape lying ninth at 85%. The minister proudly announced that each of the nine provinces achieved a pass rate of more than 84%. The results per province: Free State – 94% KZN -…
By Staff Reporter The Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) celebrates the Class of 2024’s exceptional results from both our IEB Matric and Cambridge International A-Level streams. Highlights of the IEB results: 100% pass rate, with 99% Bachelor’s Degree passes. 2.3 distinctions per candidate on average. 32% distinctions, 63% A or B aggregates, and 92% A, B, or C aggregates. Top Achievers: Isabella Rodwell (Dux): Aggregate 88.2%, 7 distinctions. Cameron Brook: 9 distinctions, including two in Further Studies Mathematics (aggregate 86.7%). Jessica Barrow and Kirsten White: 8 distinctions each, including Further Studies Mathematics (aggregate 87,7%…
By Staff Reporter The 2024 St Andrew’s College matrics who wrote the IEB National Senior Certificate examinations achieved a 100% pass rate, with 98% of the 82 boys achieving a Bachelor’s Degree (BD) pass and all of them qualifying for further study after school. The Dux Scholar was Murray Wilson, from Cape Town, who achieved an 89% aggregate, and eight distinctions in Accounting, Afrikaans First Additional Language, English Home Language, Geography, Life Orientation, Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Further Studies Mathematics: Calculus & Algebra. Two further St Andrew’s College boys also achieved eight distinctions: Andy Holmes, from Johannesburg, achieved an 89%…
By Chris Totobela The 2024 New Year’s Cup (NYC) edition did not live up to expectations, especially when one looks at the previous editions. The first two to three editions raised the bar very high, which is why it becomes so easy for football lovers to notice a serious decline in this tournament. Firstly not all the teams that were on the poster of participants that circulated, honoured their invitation. Nevertheless the draw went ahead on the same day of kick-off, 23 December. Joza Stars’ coach and manager was shocked when his team was told they would play the first…
By Staff Reporter South African parents and guardians are facing the financial reality of preparing their children for the start of the school year. With many family budgets already over-stretched, the added expenses can be overwhelming. The cost of essentials adds up quickly – fees, uniforms, textbooks, and stationery, among other items – and this is compounded by additional costs for sporting equipment, tech, transport, class outings, and extra lessons. According to research by the Old Mutual Group, putting a child through the public school system in 2023 cost roughly R651,313, with private schooling costing R1,901,549 on average. Public primary…
By Luvuyo Mjekula The Joza woman charged with her boyfriend’s murder will spend the weekend behind bars after her bail application was postponed in the Makhanda Magistrate’s Court earlier today. Nosiphiwo Mbonde, 30, is accused of killing her 34-year-old boyfriend after a quarrel in Extension 6, Joza at the weekend. Police say the incident took place on Saturday, 4 January, at about 10pm. The boyfriend was declared dead at the scene. Mbonde was arrested shortly after the incident and made her first court appearance on Tuesday. She appeared again today and looked relaxed in a red Adidas tracksuit in the…
By Luvuyo Mjekula In honour of her late brother who had a strong passion for education and was her role model at home, a Makhanda woman has started a foundation to help make a difference in the local community. Bulelwa Mila has named the foundation the “Xolani Eustice Mila Foundation“, after her brother. She says the foundation’s aim is not only to preserve Xolani’s memory, but to initiate a positive effect. “Through the foundation I want to become a source of happiness, support, and positive change to those who genuinely need it,” Bulelwa says. She recalls that her brother was…