“Walking through Rondebosch Boys’ High during Grade 8 orientation day, I remember telling my parents (Ahmed Banderker and Sumayah Brey) that my goal for high school was to attend the Matric Top Achievers breakfast with the education minister. At the time, we laughed about it because my marks were never that high.”
To his great surprise, Ziyaad Banderker found himself at that very breakfast table just over five years later when he sat down with Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and the other top 32 matrics at the Houghton Hotel in Pretoria on Thursday 20 January. Later that evening – when Motshekga announced the overall performance of the class of 2021 – Ziyaad’s surprise went to the next level when he heard his name called as the Top Maths Learner in the country for 2021.
“We (the top 33 matrics) were all sitting on stage, under the spotlights. It was so hot and we were all nervous and excited. Maths was the second award that was announced. They called out the name of the third and second top learners. Then I knew I couldn’t have gotten maths, but then they announced my name. I was completely shocked,” he shares.
Anna Kriel from Rhenish Girls’ High achieved the country’s second-highest individual maths score while the third-best maths learner was Ruan Buhr from Paul Roos Gimnasium.
Ziyaad’s 100% for maths put him in the top spot, but he says it wasn’t always one of his stronger subjects.
“In Grade 8 and 9, I wasn’t among those who were at the top of the class for maths. Some terms I would end on a 70% average. But I never gave up, and I just worked harder and harder. I saw a gradual increase in marks. And then to end my school career off like this. It was so overwhelming.”
He says, considering that there are only 30 or so top achievers named a year, the odds of being one of them are low.
“But if you stay dedicated through thick and thin, you really can achieve your biggest goals. My persistence and hard work paid off. People say it pays off, but you never really believe it until you experience it,” he says.
With a total of nine distinctions, Ziyaad will next focus all that hard work and persistence on completing his actuarial science studies at the University of Cape Town.
Shaun Simpson, principal of Rondebosch Boys’ High, says Ziyaad’s achievement is a testament to the learner’s academic focus and determination. He describes the top achiever as having been very busy at school, taking on a number of leadership roles and remaining active in the civic, cultural and sporting spheres.
“He was particularly good at accountancy and won the accounting prize. He was one of a small group to achieve an academic distinction. He came fourth in South Africa in the Allan Gray Entrepreneurship Challenge and first in South Africa in the Allan Gray Business Venture. In spite of his great academic prowess, he displays humility and a deep caring for his fellow man and was looked up to as a well-respected leader by his peers and staff alike,” he says.
Ziyaad’s name now stands proudly next to those of other past Rondebosch Boys’ High learners who achieved top marks in maths in the country.
Veren Naidoo was named as the second top mathematics achiever in the 2020 matric exams. In 2019, it was Timothy Murphy who held the school’s name high as the top mathematics achiever.
Simpson says Ziyaad has been one of a small group of top learners who have competed for the top spot in mathematics and the grade over the past five years. He says the results achieved by this group are equal to their previous best results in terms of bachelor pass rate and amongst the best in terms of distinction rate. Among the 2021 matric class, three boys achieved an average of 100% and one 99%. The mathematics average was 75,9%. 100% of the boys passed from a group where 87% of the group do mathematics as a subject.
“The pass rate, bachelor pass rate and distinction rate are amongst the best in the school’s history and this group did all of this through the tricky learning environment dictated by the pandemic. There was a real drive from the boys themselves to assist one another by forming tutor groups and WhatsApp support groups to help others in the grade that were struggling through,” he adds.
For the fourteenth consecutive year, Rondebosch Boys’ High achieved a 100% pass rate. The high school is one of 22 schools in the Western Cape to do so consistently over the past five years.
“Given the context of pandemic learning, it is especially commendable that this cohort achieved a 98,8% university entrance rate, which is equal to our previous best bachelor achievement of 2019,” says Simpson.
One hundred and sixty-three candidates achieved 415 A symbols, with an average distinction rate of 2,6 per pupil. Eighteen students achieved a full house of A symbols. Of this group, four achieved nine and four achieved eight A symbols.
Other learners besides Ziyaad who attained nine distinctions at the school are Alexander White (who came top of the grade with an average of 96,5%), André Toerien and Stefanos Panagiotidis.
Ethan Cunningham, Greig Hutchison and Sebastian Montoya Pelaez all achieved eight.
Zuhayr Halday, Rizwaan Amien, Yameen Rylands, Ethan Africa, Nicholas Ford, Liam Lawrie, Thomas Raynham, Rajiv Hofmeister, Albertus van der Merwe, Theunis Botha and Oliver Faure each achieved seven distinctions.
“While these excellent results are the culmination of years of focus and hard work on the part of both the boys and their teachers and the standard of tuition they received, they are also indicative of the determination and goal orientation of a group that were often expected to work in isolation and suffered many disappointments along the way. We are so proud of the class of 2021,” Simpson concludes.
