Loide Jason
WINDHOEK – Two best students who got the highest marks in all six Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) Grade 12 Higher Level examinations for full-time candidates, who sat in 2018, are from Windhoek Gymnasium.
Overall, four students did exceptionally well in all six NSSC Grade 12 Higher Level examinations.
Putter Sharzaan from Windhoek Gymnasium scooped the national open scholarship for best overall performance on aggregate score in NSSC Higher Level and received a cash prize of N$2,000.
Another pupil from Delta Secondary School is Marko Kersten, who got the national prize based on best performance in six NSSC Higher Level subjects, and N$1,200.
Berry Johane from Windhoek Gymnasium received the national prize based on best performance in six NSSC Higher Level subjects and N$1,200.
Diel Kyana from St. Pauls College got a national prize based on best performance in six NSSC Higher Level subjects plus N$1,200.
The other learner is Olajide Michael Academy from St. Boniface College who got the national prize based on best performance in six NSSC Higher Level subjects and cash prize of N$1,200. New Era caught up with some of these overall best performers to share the secret to their academic success. Kersten said he doesn’t have a secret, but worked hard every day. He said he got a balance between studying and taking a break.
He said he used to visualize everything he wanted to know during his studies and that is why he has performed better in biology because he visualized his own body.
Kersten said he is admitted at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, to study biology and biometrics. Sharzaan said she has started studying in advance because she began with her study immediately after the Matric farewell in September to prepare herself for her new academic path. “I am very excited. My parents and my friends are a vital role in who I am and my motivation. I prioritize important things first, like they say, the big stones you do first, first the important stuff, and then later the unimportant stuff. It is necessary to give up on a few things that you like to do, because it’s all worth it in the end,” she said. She further explained she always used to ask when she did not understand something until it was explained to her.
“I text and call my teachers to ask about topics that I do not understand. And please do not give up. If God did not open that door for you, maybe it is not your door. Try again until you succeed,” she counselled other learners.