The morning of the 20th of January 2023 was one filled with anxious thoughts, nerves, and excitement for Curro Academy Riverside’s class of 2022. The South African NSC [National Senior Certificate] results or popularly known as matric results were released in the early hours of January 20th, students could collect their statement of results at their relevant high schools. The students of Curro Academy Riverside flew their high school flag high with an amazing 87.87% pass rate. The matric results of Curro Academy contributed to Gauteng’s 1.6% pass rate increase from the previous class of 2021.

“Curro Academy Riverside is very proud of our class of 2022 for their hard work, persistence, and perseverance throughout the year,” said, Cliantha Abrahams the Marketer for Curro Academy Riverside. Cliantha also expressed that the school is extremely proud that the students managed to navigate and adjust to many challenges they may have encountered in the year 2022. Some of these challenges may have been personal or family challenges, Covid-19-induced challenges, and the continuous load-shedding challenge.

Doing well in matric opens one up to more opportunities and a higher chance of getting into institutions of higher learning and possibly an increased chance at funding opportunities. Grade twelve or Matric is often seen as the first stepping stone one takes as one approaches their career and their young adult lives. This is why matric comes with just a bit more stress than the other high school grades.

The students of Curro Academy Riverside shined brightly with their impressive matric or NSC marks however the schools also had students that shined just a bit brighter and stood out from the crowds. These top-achieving students not only made the school and their families proud but they made themselves proud. The top achieving students at Curro Academy Riverside are: Boipelo Jessica Mohale, Thamsanqa Ncube, Sebastian Mandla Sibanda, Carnicey Mabelane, Rethabile Promise Mamabolo, Hazel Nyabadza, and Mhlabawethu Khumalo.

Curro Academy Riverside’s class of 2022 has set the bar high for the class of 2023. When asked, Going forward does Curro Academy Riverside plan to change or improve anything for their current matric class of 2023, Cliantha responded by saying that “Curro Academy Riverside is dedicated to the continued success of our school and our learners. We will continue to strive for excellence and uphold our values in innovation, dedication, accountability, perseverance, and commitment.”

The morning of the 20th of January 2023 was one filled with anxious thoughts, nerves and excitement for Curro Academy Riverside’s class of 2022. The South African NSC[National Senior Certificate] results or popularly known as matric results were released in the early hours of january the 20th, students could collect their statement of results at their relevant high schools.

Curro Riverside Class of 2022 Achieves 87.87%

Who is Neo? Can you tell me a bit about yourself and what you like to do?

My name is Neo Penuel Tulomba and I am 8 years old. What i like to do is play soccer, Judo and write stories.

I knew about Judo last year when I was in Grade 1. The Judo coach came to my class and told us about Judo and gave us forms to sign up if we were interested. My mom agreed to sign up for me and that’s when I started.

What was the special competition you won? Can you describe it?

The competition I won was special because I got to travel with my mom to Cape Town. The Cape Town Competition was the second last competition for the year. We had our final competition few weeks ago in Gauteng and I also came 1st place. I was excited when they gave me a medal and I got a chance to stand on the 1st place podium.

It was very interesting because I had to fight my friend who is also 8 years old.

I got 1st place medals. I also got a stripe on my Judo belt. This was my first stripe; I need two more stipes on my belt to move to get the next belt. My belt right now is Fully Yellow, after two more stripes I will move to a yellow and orange belt.

Where are you from? Can you tell me a bit about your hometown?

I am frow Riverside View Extension 61. I moved here since I was 4 years old. I love it here because there are lots of parks for playing. There are big houses and big yards with lots of space to play.

Cape Town and the Finals was in Gauteng, Johannesburg.

When did you start liking Judo? How long have you been doing it?

I started liking Judo when I first met the Judo teacher and I have been doing Judo for 2 years.

Because it seemed fun, and they teach you stuff to protect yourself and your family.

It means a lot to me because it is a very nice sport.

How did you practice for the competition? Did you have any special moves?

Before the competition my Judo teacher took me for Practice at Roodepoort every Thursday, and Yes, my special move was a throw and the name of it is Kouchi.

How did you feel when you won the competition?

Peniel Neo Jose Tulomba who represented both Curro Academy Riverside and the West Rand District at the National Schools Judo Championships

INTERVIEW WITH PENIEL NEO TULOMBA JUDO CHAMPION FROM RIVERSIDE ACADEMY

After years of knocking on doors the Riverside View community can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Since the year of 2017,  Riverside view leadership structure, “Riverside Representatives” which comprises of community leaders from all extensions in Riverside have been actively trying to get a school and other infrastructures built for the Community with little to no luck. On the 10th of January 2023 Riverside Representatives with the aid of Riverside View ward councilor Rufas Maswazi met with Gauteng Education MEC’s representatives, a representative from the Gauteng Infrastructure office, and Valuemax to present their demands.

Riverside View is a fairly new development only established in 2015 by the developer Valuemax, that has very quickly become populated by bond housing, apartments, and free housing. In the initial development plans of the community plots of land were set aside for infrastructures such as a Clinic, Police station, and School, but none of these have been built yet.

Itumeleng Mokone a member of Riverside Representatives & leader of Extention 66b said, Riverside Reprensentatives and the community see a real need for a school in Riverside View because the community is populated with children of schooling age that need to utilise schools outside Riverside View. Itirele-Zenzele Comprehensive school a public school in Diepsloot is over-populated with students from Diepsloot and Riverside. This over-population resulted in a Stampede that left a number of students injured. Itumelang went on to say “Another reason we need a school here in Riverside is that many of these learners don't have means of transport to schools outside Riverside View.”

The meeting held on the 10th of January proved to be fruitful as Riverside representatives gave the officials present at the meeting a deadline of early 2024 for the building and functioning of the school. The Gauteng Education MEC representative in attendance agreed to the deadline and promised to help the Riverside View Community in this regard. Riverside Representatives presented this tight deadline because, amongst other reasons, the busses that currently transport Riverside View students are often faulty, breaking down, and are not a long-term solution. “The busses pose a safety issue for the students because of their condition and the condition of the roads [Riverside View roads have many bends and circles].

The school is estimated to be built and functioning by January 2024 pending the budget allocating and purchasing of the land from developer Valuemax. Itumelang said, “The school is going to be a public combined school [ A school with a high school and primary school]. Valuemax has agreed to sell the plot of land allocated for the school on an installment plan.

The Riverside Representatives have created a task team that will be responsible for liaising with the relevant governmental and developer offices. The task team will provide continuous updates to the Riverside View community. According to Itumeleng having a public school in Riverside View will benefit students and their families as they won't have to travel outside of Riverside and to make this a reality the Riverside Representatives are even prepared to make use of container classrooms while waiting for the construction and completion of the school.

After years of knocking on doors the Riverside View community can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Since the year of 2017 Riverside view leadership structure “Riverside Representatives” which comprises of community leaders from all extensions in Riverside, have been actively trying to get a school and other infrastructures bulit for the Community with little to no luck.

New School on the horizon for Riverside View

Lively music and excited shouts of students echoed the hallways of Curro Riverside View on the 20th of January 2023. 3RC a Marketing consultant company brought the school hall of Curro Riverside View to life with dancing and competition as they brought their renowned Rocking Future career expo show for the FET[ Further Education and Training Phase] students. This career expo’s objective was to be informative, fun and introduce students to private institutions along with the different types of qualifications offered.

The FET phase is a crucial phase in every student's life and career as this is the stage where you choose subjects that will bear massive influence on which path one picks when they exit high school to go into tertiary education and eventually into the world of work. Career expos are important to students as high school can sometimes be an echo chamber for many students and therefore these expos break those echo chambers allowing students to see beyond high school and what is available & an option. Curro Riverside View entrusted 3RC which has a twenty-one-year-old track to guide their students.

The students sat through presentations and the giving out of freebies from the different private institutions that were present. Amongst a number of institutions present were the AAA school of advertising, Animation School, and AFDA[Africa Film Drama Art]. Nkazimulo Ndlovu, a grade 12 learner did not shy away from the stage and participated in a dance competition and won a prize.

3RC Assistant production manager Dylan Cheytanov said “Today was mainly to empower the youth of Curro Riverside and show them that there are options[ of study] that do not involve state universities and showcase degrees offered at private institutions that you do not get at state universities. Dylan went on to say the day was a huge success as the students were engaging with the program, the institutions and showing interest.

Nkazimulo said the expo gave an idea of what is available and an options after she finishes high school. She expressed that the expo inspired her to start applying for admission to different institutions. Students in attendance were happy and excited for the future, grade ten students Bathabile Molele and Ntsako Mabasa along with Nkazimulo attested to this and expressed that they loved how the Rocking Future show was fun, educational and left them curious and excited about the possibility of studying further.

Lively music and excited shouts of students echoed the hallways of Curro Riverside View on 20th of January 2023.3RC a Marketing consultant company brought the school hall of Curro Riverside View to life with dancing and competition as they brought their renowned Rocking Future career expo show for the FET[ Further Education and Training Phase] students.

Riverside View Curro Hosts Career Expo

While matric exams went on at Curro Academy Riverside, grade 10 and 11 students celebrated the completion of their final exams on November 30.

The students took Mathematics Paper 2 on their last day of class. Curro Academy Riverside is an independent school in Riverside View, Fourways that provides high-quality education for learners from Grade 8 to Grade 12.

“This year, our grade eleven class is a strong group coming for matric next year,” said educator Khodani Maphangwa. “So far with the grade elevens, it has been looking good since the first term. We are hoping to have all of them next year. We made sure that all our students are well prepared for their end of year exams, especially the matric class.”

Questioned on the possibility of the kids having an attitude towards Mathematics subjects, Maphangwa said Both Maths and Maths Lit are important in life.

“Mathematics is a compulsory subject,” she said. “So, it’s either you choose Maths or Maths Literecy. They are both crucial. It actually helps when you want to apply for universities. It is for this reason that we show the importance of mathematics from the lower grades. Maths is apparently based on what a child would want to do going forward. Maths and Maths Lit are a great opportunity in terms of the students’ career path.”

As Maphangwa wished the matriculants luck, she also wished all the kids in grades 8 through 11 a successful return to school the next year.

The National Senior Certificate examinations commenced on 31 October 2022 and the Department of Basic Education said it is pleased with how these exams have gone.

A total of 753 964 full-time and 167 915 part-time candidates in the country are registered to write Matrics examinations. This is the largest cohort of candidates to date.

While matric exams went on at Curro Academy Riverside, grade 10 and 11 students celebrated the completion of their final exams on November 30. The students took Mathematics Paper 2 on their last day of class. Curro Academy Riverside is an independent school in Riverside View, Fourways that provides high-quality education for learners from Grade 8 to Grade 12.

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