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‘Pressure was on’

IT IS CRUNCH time for matric pupils as they prepare for their final exams starting on October 21 and finishing on November 28.

Southlands Secondary pupils Muzzaffar Khan, Tyesha Pillay, Tolokazi Pinyana, Okuhle Asande Khwela and Brandon Makosa said that over the past few months they had prepared in earnest for their final exams.

Khan, 17, said he studied every night until midnight in preparatio­n for the finals.

He said initially he was not performing well academical­ly and had to give himself a “reality check”.

“I thought about who I wanted to be after matric and this motivated me to begin an intensive study programme to pick up my grades.

“I ran away from home four years ago and was slacking in school. But, my foster family provided me with the love, care and support I needed. This made me flourish again and I realised that I was not going to make anything of myself if I did not work hard and achieve academic success,” said Khan.

“I did not want to be a nobody with no money. Despite every obstacle I was faced with and no matter how hard life gets now, I just keep pushing myself to be better and do better,” he said.

To relax, Khan said he listened to music, played cricket and soccer, and spent time with his family.

Khan hopes to pursue a career in business management and one-day own his own business.

Pillay, 18, from Westcliff, said her study programme allowed her to take regular breaks. This, she said, was her secret to absorbing more informatio­n, as she struggled to concentrat­e for long hours.

“I have been nervous and stressed out since the beginning of the year, and it has not gotten easier. I am thankful that I have the support of my teachers, parents and friends who have been a pillar of strength to me,” she said.

“The workload has been overwhelmi­ng as it includes assignment­s, studying, tests and completing the curriculum. I have enrolled to study nursing next year. This has always been my passion. I will do whatever it takes to ensure I get the marks required to enter this profession,” Pillay added.

“When I am not studying, I help the elderly people in my community by conducting free sugar and pressure testing. I use a sugar and pressure machine which my mom bought for me. I told her I wanted to be a nurse when I was eight years old. To unwind, I listen to music, play cricket and watch TV,” she said.

Inspired by her hearing-impaired friend to study languages and sign language, Pinyana, 16, said she had the support of her family to follow her dream of becoming a teacher, specialisi­ng in languages.

Her daily routine includes sleeping from 6pm to 8pm. She studies from 9pm to around 3am in earnest preparatio­n for the exams.

“I love to sleep and when I am deprived of it, I struggle to cope. I have a schedule where I nap after school and study at night when my home is quiet. I go back to sleep from about 4am to 6am and then get ready for school,” she said.

“This routine gives me balance. I have been inspired to work hard by my hearing-impaired friend. She could not hear the pastor preaching at church service. I realised at that point what I wanted to do. I vowed that I would learn sign language so my friend could know what the pastor was preaching,” Pinyana said.

Khwela, 17, from Woodlands, aspires to be an actress in spite of being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactiv­ity disorder (ADHD).

She said she felt that “the pressure was on” a few weeks before trials commenced.

“With my ADHD, I easily lose interest in what I am doing. I take medication to help me cope but sometimes I struggle to cope. I force myself to pay attention and then take regular breaks from studying to help me cope. I remember my goals

and aspiration­s and this helps me free my mind so that I can study,” she said.

Makosa, 18, from Havenside, said his family was relying on him to achieve academic success to help them as a family.

“I am their only hope, so I feel the pressure. But, it is a sacrifice I want to make. My dream is to help my family get to a better place in life. I am a better person after I met my father. But, he died two years after I met him. Due to the economy, I want to study architectu­ral technologi­es. My dream is to one day own an architectu­re business,” he said.

Makosi said to help him destress, he made his own music on an app he purchased online, for free.

Arnold Vengtas, department head for humanities at Southlands Secondary School, said that teachers had been working diligently to prepare matric pupils for the year.

“The syllabus has been completed and the focus is on re-teaching aspects of the curriculum that pupils find difficulty in.

“There is also earnest revision of past-year exam papers during the interventi­on classes held in the mornings and afternoons. During the course of the preparator­y examinatio­ns, there will be extra lessons to better prepare pupils for the final exams,” Vengtas added.