Kamogelo Pedinyane recounts all the highs and lows of his high school experience, emphasising that his inspiration stems from his sisters, who defied all barriers to excel academically.
Kamogelo claims that after finding out that he had come in second in his preliminary exams — which, he claims, were not easy — he was overcome with pride.
“The 2023 academic year was the most difficult. There was a lot of work with very little time. At times, it felt overwhelming. But I managed to adjust over time. With the help of the incredible teachers I had, things were a little bit easier. With the support I had from my family, I managed to keep my head up and work as hard as I could.
“The preliminary exams were the most difficult. When I saw my results, I was proud of myself, but at the same time I knew that I could have done better,“ he says.
When asked if he had an academic plan to ensure his success in his matric year, he tells The Star that his study schedule kept him disciplined and helped him manage his time.
“I definitely had an academic plan. I made sure that I studied ahead so that when the topics that I already studied were taught, it was just revision for me. I had a study timetable, which really helped me to become disciplined and also helped me to manage my time as efficiently as possible. I used to put more effort into the subjects that I was weakest in, without neglecting the other subjects.”
He goes on to say that his family has been the foundation of his success and that he wants to help others who come from underprivileged homes.
“I received so much support from my family throughout the year, and I’m still receiving it right now while I’m awaiting my results. I want to have a lot of money so that I can retire by 30 or 40. I want to travel the world. Most importantly, I want to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to further their studies.
“My two sisters inspire me. They managed to finish school and graduate, even though they come from a disadvantaged background,” he added.
Speaking about the highlights of the year, the Forte High School learner says they used to give incentives in the form of outings to the top-performing learners and the top-performing class.
“Since I was in position five in the whole school in term 1, and position one in term 2, I went to Gold Reef City with the other learners on both occasions. It was really fun. In the third term, instead of the outing, there was a breakfast with the principal. They announced the top 10, and I was tied at position one. That was a big achievement for me.”
He says he has applied at Wits, Stellenbosch, UP and UCT for medicine, aeronautical engineering and computational and applied mathematics.
“I want to study computational and applied mathematics since it is in high demand. I’m not really sure what I want to be. But as I’ve said, I want to study computational and applied mathematics, which has a variety of career choices like data science, analytics, finance, programming and modelling engineering. So I’ll choose the one that interests me the most,” he adds.
“I want to help as many young people as possible so that they can further their studies. I would also like to support organisations that help with skills development.”
The Star
anita.nkonki@inl.co.za