100% Pass for Sacred Heart College Matrics!

In 2020 our Matrics were asked to let go of the traditional rites and rituals that normally mark a Matric year. Their learning spaces and the way in which they had to learn also changed within days.

One thing that did not change was our educational approach which was still transformative, innovative, and academically-rigorous. We also remained empathetic, relational, collaborative and creative despite the pandemic. The disrupted year and the unfamiliar terrain was a challenge for teachers as they worked hard to deliver the best curriculum in a new situation.

Sacred Heart College maintained its 100% pass rate which has been recorded since 1997. These excellent 2020 results will allow all our students to access most institutions of higher education, with 95% of students achieving entry to Bachelor degree studies.

Our results this year include above IEB average achievements in most subjects, an increase in the overall number of distinctions, and in the number of distinctions per candidate. This is reason to celebrate.

While Matric results are a valuable indicator of our students’ success, we believe that excellent Matric results are only one measure of this. We are proud that our students leave school as well-rounded individuals who know that privilege carries responsibility and that they need to make a difference to our country and their world.

Zameer Dada, for example, who achieved 8 distinctions which included 100% for Mathematics, 93% for Information Technology and 90% for Advanced Programme Mathematics, is a strong advocate for literacy. In 2019 as a Grade 11 student, he wrote a book called “The Lion of Soweto and the Spelling Bee”. The sales from the book have been donated to the National Education Collaboration Trust and other small literacy NGOs. Zameer also completed his Gold President’s Award, and received recognition as a soccer player, chess player and World Scholar’s Cup winner.

Simran Baloo, who achieved 8 distinctions, showed resilience and the ability to recover, refocus and rally. Ten other students showed equal resilience as they transitioned from starting Matric in a school that was their home for 11 years to completing Matric after joining Sacred Heart College in June, when their school closed.

Just as important are what we call learning gains which include distance travelled or improvement in cognitive skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, situational judgement and personal development demonstrated by students. Across the board our students improved on their Grade 11 performance and showed that despite the change and challenge of 2020 they were well prepared for the unpredictability of the year.

As we celebrate our Matric results, we acknowledge the role that each member of our community has played in the achievement of these results. The partnership between home, school and students really did take on another dimension as everyone rallied around to provide support to our Matrics.

Sacred Heart College is a Marist Co-Educational school which provides innovative, values-based education from Playgroup to Matric. Visit our website,
www.sacredheart.co.za for more information.

If you have any queries, please contact Head of College, Heather Blanckensee on 082 975 3716 or email heatherb@sacredheart.co.za or Marketing Manager, Lynn Walker on 083 735 3350 or email lynn.walker@sacredheart.co.za