Matric results will be released on Friday (21 January 2022) and no school is as excited as the Jakes Gerwel Technical High School which has produced its first crop of matriculants. Parents, learners and educators alike are on the edge of their seats, ready to celebrate the “miracle” school’s first batch of school-leavers.
Built as a joint initiative between farmers, the private sector and government, the JGT High School is situated in Bonnievale, a rural village along the banks of the Breede River in the Western Cape.
The story of JGT is an inspirational one. It was launched as a no-fee school in 2018, after community members in and around the small town pooled their resources to set up a state-of-the-art agricultural high school. The school has been lauded as an active demonstration of the power of community, and learners say it has been a bit of a refuge in the last few years.
Ahead of the national Senior Certificate results release, the principal at the school, Albert Mocke, says that he feels something between excitement and anticipation.
“I am very excited and I’m looking forward to the releasing of the results of our first matric class. We worked very hard to establish the school and we are happy to release our first matrics. We are cautiously optimistic about the pending results.”
Johan van Niekerk, who teaches agricultural management practices at the school, says that the staff will be eagerly monitoring the class of 2021.
“I feel very excited. It is the first time I have matriculants and I am looking forward to seeing what they make of themselves in the real world. Hopefully, they use some of my insights and wisdom that I shared with them through the years.”
The outcome of the 2021 (NSC) examinations will be announced by the minister of Basic Education on 20 January. Provinces will be authorised to release their results the following day.
ALSO READ: ‘A school of refuge amid Covid-19’
Matriculants share the excitement
Food for Mzansi caught up with a few of the young men and women from the class of 2021 as they prepare to take their first steps into the post-school future.
Mary-Ann Swart
Swart is an aspiring farmer and is eager to get her matric results. She plans to continue her agricultural studies and emphasises the importance of the farming sector.
“I am excited to receive my results because there are many things I would love to do and experience. I really want to learn more about agriculture, and I really want to educate people on how important it is to understand agriculture.”
Swart attended JGT High School because of her great love for animals, plants and nature in general.
“I have developed a huge love for agriculture, and I am actually heartbroken to leave JGT because it is a really good school. There were many opportunities. And… the teachers… were the best.”
She is ready to take on her future. “I am ready and excited. There is always a first time for everything. My plans are to study agriculture if there is an opportunity for me to do so, and to make the best of that opportunity.”
Nicola Wentzel
Although nervous, Nicola Wentzel trusts that she had put in enough work to pass well. Her dream is to become an agricultural technician. Wentzel enjoys working with her hands, which is why she decided to attend JGT.
“Here [in Bonnievale] there wasn’t a school with agriculture as a subject. So, in 2018 when the school opened, I was so glad. I couldn’t wait to go to that school.”
On the eve of receiving her most important school results, she is somewhat nervous but optimistic. “I trust myself. I trust that I did [well] and that I will get good results,” Wentzel says.
She says that she loved every moment of her schooling. “The teachers are so friendly and kind. I also feel prepared for the next step where I can go out and explore things. I want to go and study to make a better future for myself as an agricultural technician.”
Juan Cloete
Cloete describes himself as the kind of person who loves interacting with others; a hard worker who also dabbles in producing music on the side.
He tells Food For Mzansi that he had chosen to go to JGT because of the many positive things it offered that were never available at other schools in the vicinity. “It is a school where you learn things fast.”
Cloete adds that he is keen to lay eyes on his results and to get his life started.
“I am really excited for my results. I really can’t wait. I feel happy and proud to have attended JGT and I’ve never been sad or scared attending school. I plan to join the workforce, but first I want to get my licence to drive Code 10 and 14 [vehicles]. In the future, I want to start my own family and have a wife and two kids.”
Andrea Herder
“The school made me believe in God, and everything about it was good for me,” Andrea Herder tells Food For Mzansi.
“I would have loved to stay at JGT longer. I feel as if the school prepared me for [the real world] as it was a blessing for me.”
Herder says that, while she feels stressed about getting her results, she’s already looking ahead. Her plans for the future are simple. “I want to work hard to succeed, and I just want to be happy.”
She says that she enjoys helping others. “[For me], respecting others is important and the most important thing about me is that I love to bake.”
Shamiela Stalmeester
Shamiela Stalmeester enjoyed her educational journey at the school but made sure that she had fun at the same time.
“I love making jokes, learning new things [and] I believe in myself. Also, I did not actually choose to attend JGT. My parents sent me to the school as it was close to home,” she explains.
Like almost everyone else, Stalmeester is anticipating her results with excitement. “I am excited to receive my results but also stressed out over it. I do feel really good, though, because I learned many things at JGT that I would not have learned at another school,” she tells Food For Mzansi.
Stalmeester plans to study business and, later on, law.
ALSO READ: Meet the Bonnievale farmer who taught nuns to make wine
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