Jeppe High School for Girls leading young lady, Ruth Furber, aimed high at becoming the top achiever for the 2017 National Senior Certificate.
Ruth, who was head girl and excelled in academics, leadership and cultural activities, hoped for seven distinctions after completing her final exams, and she managed just that.
She got distinctions in English, Afrikaans, Life Orientation, Maths, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Music.
The 18-year-old said she was grateful for the help and support from her parents Maia and Paul as well as her teachers.
Her sister, who matriculated two years ago, was an excellent example to her.
The challenges she faced during her final year at school were learning about leadership and balancing her free time.
“As head girl, often you face challenges of keeping people in line, and often people don’t appreciate it, but later look back and realise that it was for a good reason. The other struggle was trying to keep time and focus on my work, to also relax, because rest is important. Keeping a balance was definitely a struggle, but I had amazing people around me who always helped to keep me comfortable,” she said.
“The thing with finals is that there is this cloud of pressure, because ‘this is it’, there are no more chance after this. You can’t go back and revise the spot that you didn’t quite know,” she said.
As the out-going head girl of her school, Ruth encouraged all those who follow her to make sure that they get the ball rolling from the minute they enter Grade 8.
“To those who come after me, matric starts in Grade 8. You can’t leave it until your matric year to finally realise that you want a distinction in maths or another subject, let me work hard for a year. It doesn’t work like that. It starts in Grade 8. Learning the basics. It’s like a sport, if you learn the basics they will treat you well.”
Ruth plans to study for a Bachelor of Science at the University of Johannesburg, majoring in physiology and biochemistry. To her the highlight of her year was her valedictory ceremony where she reflected on the past year.
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