The academic programme always comes first at Jeppe

The year at Jeppe High School for Boys traditionally kicks off with three big events, in quick
succession. They re-affirm the primary purpose of the school: the academic programme which
culminates each year with a cohort of matriculants who have been prepared as best that they can be
to tackle the Senior Certificate examination and achieve a set of results that will allow them to
follow whatever post-school path they choose.
This year was no different. The learners and educators had only just become re-acquainted with
each other, when on January 19, the matrics of 2023 were back on campus to pick up their results.
It’s always a tense time, for them and the school. An overall good performance, with a pass rate
touching on 100%; the majority of candidates qualifying to attend university; and a significant
number of distinctions spread across the group, with the top-end performers earning full houses – is
a given at schools like Jeppe these days. The details become important though, and there is a desire
to see the numbers get better and better every year.
The 2023 group did that. There was a record number of distinctions, the bachelor (university
entrance) pass rate was the second highest it has ever been, and while the overall pass rate couldn’t
quite match the 100% of 2021, it came so close as to be statistically insignificant.
Just a few days later the best performers in the group were honoured at a district level. Three Jeppe
boys got the top marks in the Johannesburg East District in a subject and one came second overall,
on his average. That’s out of 60 schools and well over 1000 candidates in the region.
With the past appropriately honoured, it becomes time to look to the present. and the future, and at
Jeppe that means the academic prize giving for the rest of the school. It’s an assembly, held early in
the term at which top achievers of the previous year are recognised. There are prizes for the top
three learners in every subject, the top 10 in each grade for the 2023 year was announced and
academic colours were awarded to boys who are now in grades 11 and 12. The three most improved
learners in each grade were also honoured.
It’s a solemn occasion, the parents of the prize winners are invited to attend and there is always a
prominent speaker. This year it was Nkuli Gumede, a former teacher at the school who is now the
principal of the innovative, forward-looking Centennial Schools.
And it’s held during the school day. That’s so all the boys can be there. They need to see what the
best among them are achieving in the classroom and, hopefully, be inspired to emulate them.
The idea is that they, and the entire Jeppe community, should have no doubts that, important as
participation in sports and cultural activities are, and as worthy as those who give of their time to
the various service activities are, Jeppe High School for Boys is, always first and foremost, an
academic institution.