By Teboho Moloi
QWAQWA – Bokang Mokubung of Bluegumbosch Secondary School has emerged as one of South Africa’s top achievers in the Class of 2025, earning eight distinctions and placing first among the top three learners from Quintile 1 schools nationwide. He plans to further his studies at the Tshwane University of Technology, where he hopes to pursue Actuarial Science.
Bokang is part of the Class of 2025 that propelled the Free State to second place nationally with a pass rate of 89.33%, narrowly behind KwaZulu-Natal’s 90.6%.
On Tuesday, 13 January, Bokang received a hero’s welcome from fellow learners, teachers, school staff and community members, who gathered to celebrate his achievement and thank him for putting the area on the national map.
Soft-spoken and humble, Bokang told The Guard that his success came from studying ahead of the curriculum, which allowed him to grasp lessons more easily once they were presented in class.
“Being ahead made learning easier because I already had an idea of what the teachers were explaining,” he said.
He credited his performance to dedication, hard work, discipline and respect.
“I put in extra hours. We would attend school from 07:00 to 21:00. When I got home, I would rest briefly, then wake up around 03:00 to study until about 06:00 before going back to school. That helped me a lot. I always knew that school is not for fun but to pave our future,” he said.
Bokang urged other learners to pay close attention in class, describing this as the key to deep understanding and strong exam performance.
“This is a huge achievement and I am very proud of myself. I was honestly shocked when I received the call telling me I had made it and was invited to the national results announcement by the minister,” he said.
“Consistency is everything. I don’t remember missing a single school day, even when I wasn’t feeling well.”
Bokang achieved no mark below 85%, recording: Sesotho 86%, English 89%, Mathematics 97%, Life Orientation 100%, Geography 100%, Life Sciences 97%, Physical Sciences 97%, and Travel and Tourism 98%.
Teacher and mentor Ernest Morwane said he identified Bokang’s potential as early as Grade 9, describing him as respectful, disciplined, dedicated and highly consistent.
Bluegumbosch Secondary School principal Ernest Mbhele said the school’s 99.6% matric pass rate, coupled with producing the top learner nationally, marked a historic milestone since the school’s establishment.
This is a new dawn for the school and history in the making,” Mbhele said.
He attributed the success to early preparation, teamwork, timely completion of the curriculum and strong community involvement.
“We started as early as 6 January last year, preparing matriculants for first-term topics. By the time schools officially reopened, we were already ahead and simply built momentum from there,” he said.
Mbhele added that early preparation helped teachers identify individual learner needs and provide targeted support to ensure no child was left behind. Extra classes from 18:00 to 21:00, despite initial resistance from some parents, proved critical to the school’s success, he said. Load shedding posed challenges, requiring alternative lighting arrangements for evening classes.
Among the gifts Bokang received were a study bursary, stationery vouchers, a printer, travel bags, a laptop, an iPad, grocery vouchers, a smartphone, a smart backpack and R10,000 in cash.
