Bathobile Nkambule, a 17-year-old student from Highveld Secondary in Mpumalanga, has been named the top-performing pupil in Mpumalanga and the second-best performing pupil from quintile one schools in the country. She achieved As in all her subjects, including math, English, Swati, life orientation, life science, physical science and accounting.
She was given a bursary, a car, a laptop, a microwave, and over R50,000 in cash. Bathobile achieved As in all her subjects and was raised by a single mother after her father passed away. Her mother, Thokozile Nkambule, said that Bathobile’s success has lifted a burden off her shoulders and that the bursary will allow her daughter to attend university.
Bathobile said she was happy and shocked by her success and that she had worked hard to excel in her studies.
Despite facing challenges like load-shedding and community protests, Bathobile and other students were able to achieve a 2% improvement in their results.
