Pearson’s Hanne outshines the rest
Pearson High School matriculant Hanne Mertens outshone all the stars during an evening of glitz and glamour in East London, claiming the title of top matriculant in the province.
Hanne, 17, from Port Elizabeth, hesitated for a moment as her name was called at the 2016 top matric achievers gala at the East London International Convention Centre last night. The Summerstrand resident struggled to contain her shock, smiling broadly as she walked to the podium to collect her trophy, certificate and full tertiary education bursary presented to her by Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle. In an interview afterwards, the petite blonde was visibly flustered and still in shock, blushing with each mention of her accomplishment. “I have actually never done that well in my whole school career,” she said, giggling nervously. Hanne said she intended to study chartered accountancy at the University of Stellenbosch. The key to her success lies in “constantly trying to do the best I can at all times”, she said. “I saw my marks earlier today, but I’m still in shock because I didn’t realise they were actually that good. My whole family is very happy and they really didn’t expect it either. “Every year, I just do the best I can and this year was no different – and it worked out really well. “It’s not that I pushed any harder in matric, I just kept it constant,” Hanne said. Hanne achieved straight As in all eight of her subjects, which included 99% for English, 95% for Afrikaans, 99% for accounting, 96% for mathematics, 95% for life sciences, 98% for physical science, 95% for life orientation and 94% for advanced programme mathematics.
She was not the only matriculant who proudly flew the Nelson Mandela Bay flag at the awards. Andre Conradie, 18, from Brandwag Hoërskool, scooped the award for the top pupil in the Uitenhage district. He was a joint winner of The Herald Continental Matric of the Year competition. Fellow Pearson High School pupil Kristen Giddy, 18, claimed the award for top pupil in the Port Elizabeth district. Tembalake Beja, 17, from Douglas Mbopa High School in Uitenhage and Kana Azola, 20, from Sandisulwa High School in Paterson were in the top 20 in the province under the historically disadvantaged individuals category.
