Luvolwethu Sombalo (18) from Highbury was the top matric achiever at Soneike High School with an average of 84,5%, scoring more than 90% in three subjects.
These results, he says came as a surprise as his matric year was “a challenging year”.
“Covid affected us a lot. We had to adapt to online teaching and WhatsApp.” Luvo says learners were in study mode and when they could not return to school after the first lockdown, study mode switched off.
“It really affected most learners. I had to put in extra hours and try to adapt to a new style of learning – e-learning, and using WhatsApp to try and understand.”
Luvo says the teachers tried their best to help by sending information and study material, but it was difficult with no classroom interaction.
“You couldn’t ask questions the way you would have wanted to.” Luvo has a passion for mathematics and wants to work in the financial industry. He is going to study actuarial science at UCT. The humble young man firstly acknowledges God for giving him the strength to push through the challenges and for guiding him on his journey. He is also thankful for everything the school has done for him –the principal (Ronel Baker) and teachers like Dillan Davids (maths) and especially his Afrikaans teacher, Zaida Gallie, and accounting teacher, Mogamat Johannes “who pushed me hard to work hard.”
Luvo says his parents were shocked and happy about his results. He was at first not confident as he had one “bad maths paper”.
“I was kind of stressed out and worried and anxious.” It turned into excitement when he heard he had 91% for maths. To the current Grade 12s Luvo says, “Focus on your studies, it’s easy to get distracted. Keep your head up and focus. Be humble and listen to what your teachers are saying. Do the homework. Be disciplined and stay motivated. Matric is really challenging, but do something to make it memorable. Try your best to work hard, but try and keep a balance. Have a social life, but keep the focus.”
