Thandulwazi Academic Awards 2023

March 22, 2023 | Campus, Thandulwazi

The Thandulwazi Academic Awards ceremony took place on Saturday 18 March 2023 and was an inspiring celebration of the achievements of the Thandulwazi Matric Class of 2022, graduate Teachers, Interns and all the Learners who improved their results. It is a commemoration of those who are striving to overcome their difficult circumstances and improve their lives for the better.

Thandulwazi is the 6th school of St Stithians College and offers four educational programmes to both Learners and adult Teachers. To find out more about the programmes visit www.thandulwazi.com Thandulwazi is 100% donor funded and relies on its partnerships with corporates and individual donors to deliver its programmes professionally.

The Academic Awards ceremony was held in Mears Hall on the St Stithians campus with over 1100 Learners, Teachers, donors and administrators attending the event. The ceremony was a celebration of dreams and excellence that can be achieved when all stakeholders work together.

The audience was entertained by a variety of performances including student drama, poetry, choir, marimba and a toddler song from a nearby ECD center who stole the show! There were words of welcome from Mr. Gumbi, Head of the Thandulwazi Academy and an inspiring talk from Dr. Chauke, a past graduate from Thandulwazi who went on to graduate from UCT with a Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery.

Then it was time to congratulate those who had worked hard and achieved. Mrs Ntombi Langa-Royds (Chair of the St Stithians College Council) was on stage to present the awards. Our warmest congratulations go to our top 10 students.

The top five Learners receiving their prizes of laptops from Thandulwazi.

We are grateful to the many donors and sponsors who have supported these Learners’ dreams to attend university. Fasset who announced their CEO Award as a bursary to the value of R90 000 each to two students, namely Jessica Badiata and Debris Ngamba caused enormous excitement and emotion on stage and from their parents and families sitting in the audience. Mrs Mamatshiliso Nhlapo, a board member at FASSET, presented the delighted Students with these awards.

The top Academic Scholarship award for 2022 was awarded to Thomas Madidimalo who obtained
5 Distinctions with an 87% average in Grade 11 at St Stithians College. This is a remarkable achievement of which he can be very proud.

Then Teachers were celebrated and certificates of achievement given to them by Mrs Celeste Gilardi (Rector of St Stithians College). There are Teacher Development programmes ranging across all levels of teaching. The top performing ECD Teacher was Matshidiso Mantjane, Grade R was Sindiswa Mkhwanazi, Foundation Phase was awarded to Nozuko Siziba and the Intermediate and Senior phase award went to Shaen Hlongwane. The hard work put in by these Teachers to study while still working shows true commitment and grit to improving their teaching skills.

Teacher Interns working at St Stithians College were also celebrated for their excellent B.Ed and PGCE UNISA results. Our top 5 performers were Katelyn Stevens for Foundation Phase, Katiso Madumisi for Intermediate and Senior phase, Sithobile Mjoli for Senior and FET Phase, and Morgan Manyala for Senior and FET phase. These St Stithians and UNISA trained Teachers are in high demand once their qualifications are completed and many go on to secure top teaching jobs around the country.

The Thandulwazi Maths and Science Academy Awards Ceremony is a moment to pause and reflect on the outstanding results achieved and to be proud of the work that is being done to help others. As the 6th school of St Stithians College, we are proud of the difference we make to those who wish to improve their education.To assist, volunteer or donate to the Thandulwazi Maths and Science Academy programmes, email fundraising@thandulwazi.com