IEB results: Top achievers excited for future after tough year of lockdown studies
Updated | By Anastasi Mokgobu
Matric pupil Savanna Cohen, who is one of the top achievers from Crawford International in Sandton, has warned this year’s grade 12s to take care of their mental health when studying for exams.
The Independent Examination Board (IEB) released the 2020 matric results on Friday.
Independent schools recorded a matric pass rate of 98.7%, which is only marginally down from last year.
The pass rate was achieved despite the ravages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced pupils to study from home for long periods of time.
Nadine Steyn, who attended Maragon Mooikloof, achieved 9 distinctions including in Mathematics, Accounting and Physical Sciences.
Steyn says she is really excited about her results.
"I am very, very excited. I put in the hard work to achieve this result and I'm excited at what it ended up being.
“I was hoping to achieve distinctions for all of my subjects, but I wondered a bit about one. I'm excited that I got distinctions in all nine subject.”
She says a lot of hard work and self-motivation went into achieving her results.
"It was a lot of hard work, especially because we had to do online classes for almost the entire year. I think a lot of hard work and self-motivation, even when things are abnormal, helped me.”
Steyn says it was tough to be at home for protracted periods and not being able to see friends.
“Our whole school went online during the Covid-19 lockdown. It was difficult not being able to interact with friends and teachers and we were definitely very happy when schools reopened."
She will be studying medicine at the University of Pretoria.
Cohen, who achieved 8 distinctions including in Mathematics, English, Physical Science, says she woke up to the good news on Friday.
"I am so happy and relieved. These are the best marks I have ever received in high school. I was very surprised when I woke up this morning and one of the teachers at school told me that I came first in the grade.
“So, I'm happy and excited about what these results will bring me in the future," she says.
Cohen admits she was impatient for the release of the results, which were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I was a bit impatient, but it was also nice to have a break not having to worry about it. I wasn't expecting such great results, though I found the final a bit difficult.
“I'm really happy with the outcomes, studying through lockdown was hard a lot of times it was difficult not being with friends and not being able to interact with teachers.”
She warns the class of 2021 to be careful of burnout during the long periods of study ahead of exams.
"The most important thing is to watch out from being burned out from studying, because we push ourselves so hard. Burnout is a problem and affects a lot of people, so I think the class of this year should just make sure that their mental health is prioritised.”
She is hoping to be accepted to study medicine at the University of Cape Town.
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