Girls’ College Celebrate Outstanding Matric Results

We recently celebrated another round of exceptional Matric Results from our Class of 2019.

In the words of Dr Sally James, Head of School:

The Class of 2019 at St Stithians Girls’ College can be best described as authentic women, offering a symbol of hope and courage for young girls across our country. Congratulations to the class on their fine Matriculation results. Achieving 100% pass rate is a huge accomplishment!

Here are some of the stories behind the numbers.

Full House for Drama Top Performers

The Girls’ College Matric Dramatic Arts subject class of 2019 certainly have reason to celebrate! These talented performers were rewarded with a full house of distinctions – all 15 candidates achieved over 80% for the subject, which includes both a practical element and a rigorous theory component. The class average was an impressive 87%. This is a true testament to hard work, skill and passion. The class comprised Jenna Arthur, Rae Attridge, Raquel Correia, Robyn Edwards, Rhea Gill, Jemma Jenkins-Ferrett, Ngoyi Kalisilira, Zoe-Blu Mottram, Thobile Mthimkhulu, Anesu Mugadza, Shana Naidu, Yumika Naidu, Emma Schipholt, Alicia Shelembe, and Georgina Stanley, many of whom wish to pursue the performing arts at university. Special mention must be made of Rhea Gill, who placed in the top 1% for the subject nationally.

With them to share in their excitement was their teacher, Taryn Henning, who praised the class for their consistent effort. She notes that the encouragement was reciprocal – not only did she motivate her students, but they would also give her a boost when she felt burdened or challenged. It is her empassioned opinion that, in addition to preparing their students academically, teachers should engage with them authentically on an emotional level and with the genuine belief that every student has a unique potential. These factors surely contributed greatly to this class making magic!

Girls’ College Students Break the Maths and Science Glass Ceiling

We are extremely proud of three of our students who made the IEB’s top achievers lists, most notably in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, breaking the glass ceiling for women in these traditionally male-dominated fields.

Kundra Oosthuizen, who received distinctions for all nine of her subjects, placed in the top 1% of IEB candidates for both Mathematics and Physical Sciences, as well as Afrikaans First Additional Language and Life Orientation. She is naturally the school’s top achiever in these subjects, as well as Advanced Programme Mathematics, Accounting, French Second Additional Language and Advanced Programme English. Kundra’s ninth distinction was for English First Language. These achievements also earned her a place on the IEB’s Outstanding list for candidates who achieved within the top 5% in six or more subjects and 80% or above for Life Orientation. She is one of only 73 candidates nationwide who achieved this remarkable feat! 

Both with distinctions in all 7 of their NSC subjects, Kamryn Norton and Megan Swallow were placed on the IEB’s Commendable list for having achieved within the top 5% in five subjects and over 80% for Life Orientation. Kamryn and Megan share this honour with 79 other candidates in South Africa. Kamryn additionally scored in the top 1% of all IEB candidates for Mathematics, while Megan boasts this achievement for Geography and Life Sciences.

All three of these keen minds have ambitions to study STEM further: Kundra wishes to study mechanical engineering at Stellenbosch University (where her twin sister Anouk will pursue chemical engineering); Kamryn will be studying mechatronics at UCT; and Megan lists as one of her options an engineering degree at UCT.

Head Girls “Recreating the Dream in 2019”

Zanele Nzau (Head Girl 2019) and her deputies, Daniela Martini and Hillary Wanjohi, have certainly led by example in respect of their Matric results. Their vision for the school in 2019 was “Recreating the Dream” and they have certainly set an extremely high standard for future Girls’ College students and leaders – a dream that they may chase in 2020 and beyond! The trio amassed an impressive 17 distinctions collectively, with 6 for Zanele, 7 for Daniela, and 4 for Hillary. Additionally, Daniela made the IEB’s list for the Top 1% of Geography candidates. We are confident that these young adults will continue to be leaders and role models as they enter the next phase of their lives.

Subject Excellence / Scorecard – Inspiring Excellence

Our Matrics of 2019 have received their results and now we use these to generate our Girls’ College 2019 Report Card! With a few more subjects than your average school report, we think we aced this one! Congratulations and thanks to our top achievers for these fine results.

Subject	Top Mark	Top Achiever
Afrikaans First Additional Language	97%	Kundra Oosthuizen
Accounting	92%	Kundra Oosthuizen
Business Studies	92%	Leigh Hudson
Computer Applications Technology	78%	Bianca Ferreira
Dramatic Arts	97%	Rhea Gill
English Home Language	89%	Rhea Gill
French 2nd Language	94%	Kundra Oosthuizen
Geography	92%	Megan Swallow & Daniela Martini
History	91%	Rhea Gill
Information Technology	93%	Kamryn Norton
isiZulu	92%	Asanda Khumalo
Life Orientation	95%	Kundra Oosthuizen
Life Sciences	90%	Megan Swallow
Mathematics	98%	Kundra Oosthuizen
Music	83%	Rhea Gill
Physical Sciences	98%	Kundra Oosthuizen
Sesotho	79%	Thato Moluoane
Visual Arts	88%	Jessie Olivier
Advanced Programme English	81%	Kundra Oosthuizen
Advanced Programme Mathematics	91%	Kundra Oosthuizen

 

Best Foot Forward – 70% Average

After analysis of our 2019 IEB Matric results, we are pleased to announce that 71% of our 2019 Matrics (65 out of 91 candidates) achieved an aggregate of 70% or above.

Congratulations to our students on setting the bar high and thanks to our teachers for their guidance and expertise.