PR PATHER Secondary pupils, Jaiden Govender, Salman Ahmed, Casey Jones, Akhona Shibase and Tyra Adams, said they have been burning the midnight oil to ensure they perform well for the final exams.
The final exams start on October 21 and will end on November 28.
Govender, 18, said in a bid to balance his physical and mental health during this time, he went for a daily run.
“I love cars and want to study mechanical engineering next year. I ensure that I have a balance of studies, exercise and socialising to stay sane for what has been a challenging year,” he said.
Ahmed, 17, said he was focused on his studies and was striving to obtain academic excellence. He said he hoped to secure a bursary to study chemical engineering.
“I intend on working and studying to maintain my independence. In the last few years, I have held several part time jobs to earn my own money,” said Ahmed.
“In Grade 10, I realised I had to make major adjustments to how I was performing academically. I worked extra hard to raise my marks. I changed my mindset and now do whatever it takes to ensure I get good marks. In my spare time, I go to the gym and exercise to have a balanced lifestyle,” he said.
Jones, 18, said she was “hanging in there” until the year was over.
“It has been overwhelming, but I am pushing myself to persevere. I want to pursue a career in psychology, so that I can help people. I am doing everything I can to get there. There is a lot of pressure. Teachers, parents, and everyone around us have big expectations. Matric is a rough journey,” she added.
Studying for 30 minutes at a time has helped Shibase, 17, stay focused during his study schedule. She needs regular breaks to study effectively.
“I want to be a nurse. I see people in the streets because they are uneducated. This scares me and I push myself to work harder to realise my dream in healthcare,” she said.
Aiming for a career in graphic design and animation, Adams, 17, said she chose to wake up a few hours earlier each day to study.
“This is when my mind is at its optimum and I can learn effectively. I advise other pupils to choose a time to study when they feel they can cope with the volume of work and their attention span is at its best,” she said.
Kosala Sipahli, the acting principal of PR Pather Secondary School, said last year the school had a 60% pass rate and they were aiming for 85 this year.
“The intervention programmes have been in place since January. At the beginning of the year with also called a parents meeting to foster better relations between them and us, in the interest of the pupils. Numerous other programmes have been put in place to assist the pupils to perform optimally. We also have Saturday programmes and extra lessons on weekdays,” said Sipahli.
“In the second term, we started the Super Thursday programme, where specialist teachers from other schools come to our school to do intervention lessons,” she said.
Our pupils were also sent to Durban Girls’ High School for extra lessons for a week.
“Pupils who we found to be at risk of poor performance were sent to a weekend intervention camp to cover various subjects, including maths, accounting, business studies, life sciences and English,” she added.
She said if pupils had difficulty studying at home, they provided space at school, under supervision for this purpose.
“Some pupils indicated they had mental fatigue and we offered them counselling and helped them navigate them through that period. We also motivate parents to support their children. They have to also adjust to dealing with having a matric pupil in their home.”
Sipahli advised pupils to prepare themselves mentally for the finals.
“Last minute crash studies are not an option. Notes must be organised. Ensure you have all the resources. Go onto websites and social platforms for study material and other resources. Seek help if you need it – whether it is personal or with studies. If you are not coping, do not bottle it up. Talk to the adults in your life about how best to get through these challenging times,” Sipahli said.