St George's matric achievers shine

On 26 September, the St George's Diocesan School held its grade 12 awards evening to recognise the achievements of their first group of Cambridge International Assessment AS Level students.
Yanna Smith
Justicia Shipena



Certificates of academic excellence were awarded to learners on AS Level with an average of 70% and above in any subject for the year. Recipients of the awards included Tinotenda Dauti (English, chemistry and computer science), Naudano Hamuneyla (English and art & design), Donald Hlahla (art & design), Sasha van Tonder (English, art & design and global perspectives), Mohammed Hoosain (English, business studies, computer science and global perspectives), Neill Jandrell (English, computer science and physics), Aqisha Jooste (global perspectives), John Mbako (English language, mathematics, biology and physics), Thadryn Thys (English), Esteban Santana do Nascimento (art & design and global perspectives) and Iffat Mollah (English, mathematics and computer science).

The top achievers were Sasha van Tonder for English and global perspectives, John Mbako in mathematics and biology while Mohammed Hoosain scooped the top achiever's award in business studies and Tiontenda Dauti in chemistry.

John Mbako also walked away as the achiever in the field of science as well as the Dux award) and Mohammed Hoosain also scooped the award of top achiever in the field of commerce.

Speaking to The Zone, John Mbako, Dux learner of grade 12, said that he is very humbled to receive the award out of a large group of hardworking students.

“It's really a privilege that I was recognised as the top achiever in such a competitive group. It's through motivation from my fellow learners that I could achieve this and this award is dedicated to them,” he said.

Mbako added that there has always been a lot of pressure throughout high school, namely him being elected as head boy, being captain of the soccer team and maintaining good grades. He continued saying lot of the younger students looked up to him as the head boy and it's not always easy to be a role model.

“The AS Level has been an extremely demanding syllabus but the help of teachers, parents and friends has made it easier,” he said.

Mbako urged his fellow students to consider the consequences of not taking action and thanked St George's for the wonderful 14 years.

Mohammed Hoosain, top achiever in the field of commerce, said the importance of giving young people a well-rounded education is critical, adding that Namibia's youth will need more than just the basics to succeed in the modern, competitive world.

“School is just a preparation for the real world, I believe. The real world is a place where one needs to be able to integrate various skills in order to succeed. And a well-rounded education teaches young people to be prepared for life. Plus, don't our young people deserve to be prepared for life in the best way possible?” he said.

He also said in this day and age, when many companies around the globe have certain prejudices towards African countries and their candidates, we need to be able to show them that we're nothing to look down on.

Overall, it was a fantastic evening celebrating the achievements of our pupils of St George's Diocesan.