Inside Education Reporter
“South Africa needs doctors and if I can make a difference it would be an honour for me to give back to my country,” says Gauteng’s top matric student, Sheliza de Wet who was head girl at Hoërskool Menlopark in Pretoria.
De Wet will be studying medicine and surgery at the University of Pretoria (UP) from February this year.
“I’m very excited, I was a bit overwhelmed as I didn’t expect to be first but I am very thankful and very happy that I got into UP as it has a fantastic medical campus and I can’t wait to experience student life.”
With 9 distinctions, she is in good company as Gauteng’s second and third top matric students have also chosen to study at UP, all with and 96%+ averages.
Wian van Rooyen from Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria achieved 8 distinctions, he was second in Gauteng and will also be studying medicine and surgery at UP. “It was an easy choice for me,” he says.
“The new era of medicine is an exciting field with rapidly evolving technologies that assist doctors and surgeons in their work and expand the reach of medical professionals to people everywhere.”
They are both keen to meet Stevie the telemedicine robot in UP’s Faculty of Health Sciences at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital. Stevie is a mobile robot who assists in the treatment of patients through live discussions between intensive-care unit teams in Germany and South Africa.
“UP positions itself on being a future-oriented university in all the programmes it offers,” says UP’s interim Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Themba Mosia.
“We are ranked in the top 1% of universities worldwide in 10 fields and incredibly proud of our brand, reputation and educational quality. This is confirmed year on year by the escalating number of top matric achievers choosing to study at UP.”
Competition for admission in 2023 proved hugely competitive in a range of courses, including medicine, engineering, veterinary, law and actuarial science, with many of the top students being admitted to UP achieving 95%+ and 7+ distinctions.
Second in South Africa for mathematics, first in Gauteng for mathematics and third overall for all subjects in Gauteng is Jéan Goodey from Hoërskool Oos-Moot who achieved 7 distinctions and who will be studying actuarial and financial mathematics at UP.
I focused on consistency every day so that I didn’t fall behind and I always do the best that I can, says Goodey. “I chose actuarial and financial maths because I have a natural feeling for numbers. Maths is one of my favourite subjects and actuarial science fits well with it. I think I got the ability from my parents because they are both chartered accountants.”
Another top matriculant with a gift for numbers is Zonke Thwala from Siphesihle Secondary School in Waterloo, KwaZulu-Natal, who came third in South Africa in the Quintile 3 schools. She achieved 7 distinctions and is pursuing accounting sciences at UP.
She says a lack of electricity “made studying for matric very hard”. “The transformer in my area blew and I had to use a candle and torch to study. I persevered and I am so proud of myself. It’s really unbelievable and I am grateful to God, my family and teachers. Matric was the longest year of my life!”
One of the top private school matriculants, Carine Pretorius, from Helpmekaar College in Johannesburg who achieved 10 distinctions will be studying industrial engineering at UP. “I attended the engineering faculty’s career week last week and industrial engineering appealed to me because it’s all about processes, systems and productivity.
“During the week we also experienced the virtual mine – it’s as if we were standing in a real mine. I hadn’t seen anything like that, and the technological advancements that are happening now are amazing.”
Pretorius also plays the recorder and did her UNISA Grade 8 exam in 2023 and will be doing her licentiate this year.
INSIDE EDUCATION
