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<\/div>\nDURBAN – KWAZULU-NATAL matric pupils from the Class of 2021 excelled and soared above the stress and uncertainty of two years of Covid-19 and last year\u2019s July unrest to achieve excellent marks.<\/p>\n
Yash Panday, of Crawford International College North Coast, said the final exams were difficult and there was a lot of pressure that was compounded by the pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cCovid-19 and the unrest did make it a bit more difficult, but I believe that there is no point in complaining about a bad situation. Instead, you need to find solutions to make the best of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that it was important to have a balanced life, and his parents made sure of that. His advice to the class of 2022 is that matric is a lot of hard work, which requires a lot of commitment and discipline.<\/p>\n
He will be studying medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal or Wits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
MORE ON THIS<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\nMira Pillay, of Crawford International College La Lucia, said her final exams went really well.<\/p>\n
However, she said Covid-19 and online learning had made it harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt constant stress due to this, which affected my ability to concentrate on school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nHer advice for this year\u2019s matrics was: \u201cStay calm and do not forget to take care of yourself. It\u2019s easy to get caught up in the pressure of getting good marks, but mental health and a balanced lifestyle is more important.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that she was heading to Cape Town in a couple of weeks, to study medicine at UCT.<\/p>\n
Also from Crawford La Lucia, Ruhi Rugbeer said the matric year went by very quickly. She said she started studying a month in advance and that getting eight hours of sleep daily was key.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cMy mom always made sure she was there for me, and I am grateful. It was a community effort with friends, teachers and family always making sure that I was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that the July unrest was particularly traumatic as she had heard gunshots daily, and heard one of the chemical explosions.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily my teachers and the school were very helpful during that time. They allowed us to take a few days off,\u201d she said. She will be studying medicine at UCT.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nAndrew Williams, 18, also of Crawford La Lucia, said all exams were tricky, the key was to be prepared. He said having gone through the adjustment of school with Covid-19 in Grade 11 helped him better prepare for Grade 12. However, he said the unrest was challenging because it happened just before the trial exams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were questions of how long it would go on for and if exams would be pushed back. No one knew what to expect, which made it more stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n
He plans to study mechatronic engineering at Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nMegan Turner, 19, of St Mary\u2019s Diocesan School for Girls in Kloof, said although the final exams were by no means easy, through hard work and perseverance she had made it through.<\/p>\n
She said both the pandemic and the unrest had contributed to the stress and anxiety of her matric year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough I was able to cope with online learning it was still very disruptive as we were unable to predict when the next wave was going to hit the country, and whether we would be able to work at school during this period. The unrest resulted in almost a week of school being cancelled.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nMegan said her mother also had to have a surgery in June, while she was writing exams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis brought a lot of emotional strain and really affected me as I had to help out my dad with looking after my younger brother, while still studying and working hard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her advice for the class of 2022 is to take one day at a time, and to try to enjoy the ride.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nMegan will be studying actuarial science at Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n
Another St Mary\u2019s pupil, Erin Lombard, 19, said that while the final exams were long and stressful, she had done her best. She said she was fortunate because her school had adapted well to online learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were able to easily transition from being on and off campus and our school made sure that we did not lose any learning time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nShe added that going for walks and reading helped calm her during finals.<\/p>\n
Erin has been conditionally accepted to study medicine at UCT.<\/p>\n
Shannah Steele, 18, also of St Mary\u2019s, said the final exams were different from the trial exams. She commended her school for having pre-recorded lessons with access to notes. \u201cWe could contact the teachers at any time of the day, and they would respond,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nShe said she spent time training her two dogs, cooking and baking to relax. She will be studying chemical engineering at Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n
Daniella Samouilhan, 18, also of St Mary\u2019s, said some papers during her final exams were better than others.<\/p>\n
She said her school had online learning every day. However, she added that she did not really enjoy online learning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cI found it hard to stay motivated and it was much better when we went back to in-person learning,\u201d she said. She added that to relax she loved spending time with friends, being outdoors at the beach and horse riding.<\/p>\n
Daniella plans to study medicine at the University of Pretoria this year.<\/p>\n
THE MERCURY<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DURBAN – KWAZULU-NATAL matric pupils from the Class of 2021 excelled and soared above the stress and uncertainty of two years of Covid-19 and last year\u2019s July unrest to achieve excellent marks. Yash Panday, of Crawford International College North Coast, said the final exams were difficult and there was a lot of pressure that was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-917601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-headlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=917601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917601\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=917601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=917601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=917601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Mira Pillay, of Crawford International College La Lucia, said her final exams went really well.<\/p>\n
However, she said Covid-19 and online learning had made it harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt constant stress due to this, which affected my ability to concentrate on school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Her advice for this year\u2019s matrics was: \u201cStay calm and do not forget to take care of yourself. It\u2019s easy to get caught up in the pressure of getting good marks, but mental health and a balanced lifestyle is more important.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that she was heading to Cape Town in a couple of weeks, to study medicine at UCT.<\/p>\n
Also from Crawford La Lucia, Ruhi Rugbeer said the matric year went by very quickly. She said she started studying a month in advance and that getting eight hours of sleep daily was key.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cMy mom always made sure she was there for me, and I am grateful. It was a community effort with friends, teachers and family always making sure that I was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that the July unrest was particularly traumatic as she had heard gunshots daily, and heard one of the chemical explosions.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily my teachers and the school were very helpful during that time. They allowed us to take a few days off,\u201d she said. She will be studying medicine at UCT.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Andrew Williams, 18, also of Crawford La Lucia, said all exams were tricky, the key was to be prepared. He said having gone through the adjustment of school with Covid-19 in Grade 11 helped him better prepare for Grade 12. However, he said the unrest was challenging because it happened just before the trial exams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were questions of how long it would go on for and if exams would be pushed back. No one knew what to expect, which made it more stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n
He plans to study mechatronic engineering at Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Megan Turner, 19, of St Mary\u2019s Diocesan School for Girls in Kloof, said although the final exams were by no means easy, through hard work and perseverance she had made it through.<\/p>\n
She said both the pandemic and the unrest had contributed to the stress and anxiety of her matric year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough I was able to cope with online learning it was still very disruptive as we were unable to predict when the next wave was going to hit the country, and whether we would be able to work at school during this period. The unrest resulted in almost a week of school being cancelled.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Megan said her mother also had to have a surgery in June, while she was writing exams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis brought a lot of emotional strain and really affected me as I had to help out my dad with looking after my younger brother, while still studying and working hard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her advice for the class of 2022 is to take one day at a time, and to try to enjoy the ride.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Megan will be studying actuarial science at Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n
Another St Mary\u2019s pupil, Erin Lombard, 19, said that while the final exams were long and stressful, she had done her best. She said she was fortunate because her school had adapted well to online learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were able to easily transition from being on and off campus and our school made sure that we did not lose any learning time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She added that going for walks and reading helped calm her during finals.<\/p>\n
Erin has been conditionally accepted to study medicine at UCT.<\/p>\n
Shannah Steele, 18, also of St Mary\u2019s, said the final exams were different from the trial exams. She commended her school for having pre-recorded lessons with access to notes. \u201cWe could contact the teachers at any time of the day, and they would respond,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She said she spent time training her two dogs, cooking and baking to relax. She will be studying chemical engineering at Stellenbosch University.<\/p>\n
Daniella Samouilhan, 18, also of St Mary\u2019s, said some papers during her final exams were better than others.<\/p>\n
She said her school had online learning every day. However, she added that she did not really enjoy online learning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI found it hard to stay motivated and it was much better when we went back to in-person learning,\u201d she said. She added that to relax she loved spending time with friends, being outdoors at the beach and horse riding.<\/p>\n
Daniella plans to study medicine at the University of Pretoria this year.<\/p>\n
THE MERCURY<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DURBAN – KWAZULU-NATAL matric pupils from the Class of 2021 excelled and soared above the stress and uncertainty of two years of Covid-19 and last year\u2019s July unrest to achieve excellent marks. Yash Panday, of Crawford International College North Coast, said the final exams were difficult and there was a lot of pressure that was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-917601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-headlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=917601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917601\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=917601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=917601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=917601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}