Crestway High matric pupils share their hopes and challenges for their final year

With the new academic year starting on Wednesday, January 14, Crestway High School matric pupils, Shauna-Lee Mansoer and Faakhir Southgate, are sharing their message of hope for the upcoming school year.

Shauna-Lee said she is feeling excited and nervous at the beginning of her final year at Crestway. “It's a bit stressful looking at the tests that we are going to do. I am also sad that it is my last year, as I will be saying goodbye to my teachers at the end of the year,” she said.

Shauna-Lee said her teachers gave her a lot of support during her time at the school. 

“High school is some of the best years of your life, you have time for friends, and to do things you need to do, so I will miss it,” she said.

Her favourite subjects are business and English, and during her time at the school, she also joined the eco-club, where they take care of the school’s garden.

Her message to her fellow matric pupils is that they should start getting into the “mindset” that it is their final year.

“They need to work hard and need to push through,” she said. 

Faakhir said he is feeling excited and mostly nervous about taking on his final year.

“So far, I have heard that matric can be a really challenging year; there will be days when we leave school late, and there will be Saturday classes,” he said.

Faakhir said this final year will provide an opportunity for each pupil to learn from each other and help one another. During the past few years, since he started in Grade 8, Faakhir said the school has made many improvements in discipline, infrastructure, and punctuality.

“Since I started, I have seen improvements; we are doing well, though there is always room for improvement,” he said.

Faakhir encourages all his matric classmates to put in all the effort this year.

“Go over your work, it is going to be a lot, you just have to endure and be resilient, and prove to yourself that you can do Grade 12, because you have made it this far,” he said.

Crestway High principal Cheryl Jacobs said her wish for the new academic year is for the school and its pupils to grow even further.

“As we are on the trajectory of achieving academic excellence at this school, my wish for each pupil is for every pupil to show up, enter to learn, all work hard with their teachers to realise their dreams,” she said.