…as school posts impressive ‘O’ and ‘A’ level results
TellZim reporter
Masvingo urban based government school Ndarama High continues to blaze the education trail, positioning itself as a giant among academic powerhouses in the province as it fared well in the 2022 Zimbabwe School Examinations Council Ordinary and Advanced level examinations as usual.
The school recorded a 95.5 percent overall pass rate for the Advanced level class of 2022.
Among its strengths, Ndarama boasts of academic prowess in Science subjects with Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science and Sports Science learning areas scoring 100 percent. Geography recorded an overall pass rate of 94 percent, Mathematics had 92 while Physics recorded 84.60
Other learning areas that recorded 100 percent passes are Literature in English, Shona, History and Family and Religious Studies.
Economics and Business Studies followed up with 83.30 and 87.20 percent respectively.
Ephrage Rugara scored 25 points in Commercials followed Rahaad Phili on 20 points, Shebbah Mudzingwa, Kuzivakwashe Mugwira and Ketty Mureri all on 19 points in Sciences. Three other learners were tied on 17 points followed by 17 fifteen pointers in Sciences, Commercials and Arts.
In the Ordinary levels, the school shone with the highest scoring learner Makanyezi Jabulani coming out with 13 As followed by Takunda Kwara at 12A, Tatenda Chinyenye with 11 As and a B. Blessing Machele scored 10 As and a B while Mitchael Nyakahembe and Lenon Mozondo had 9 As and 4 Bs.
A host of other learners followed with 5 to 8 As.
Economic History, Physics, Musical Arts, Textile Technology, Building Studies, Food Technology and Art all recorded 100 percent passes.
Such passes in the latter five learning areas show the school’s commitment to production of self-reliant academic products.
Physical Education recorded 98.8 percent, Heritage Studies had 98.7, History 88.2, Biology 86.1, Computer Studies 85.7, Family and Religious Studies 83.2, English Language 81.3 and Metal Technology 80.
The overall school pass rate stands at a whopping 79 percent even with such a large number of exam candidates.
What the man-in-charge has to say
Despite operating in a restrictive environment characterized by a huge enrolment and limited resources as a result of the relatively low school fees paid by learners, the school remains committed to the cause of educating the province and posting impressive results according to School Head Oddy Matongo.
Running under the theme ‘Beating the previous best’, Matongo said the school strives for excellence and called upon parents to join forces with the school’s administration so that results keep on improving.
“The evidence we have shows that despite being a day school, Ndarama has proven itself a force to reckon with as learners have dropped from more established schools like Gokomere to join us while some are commuting from areas like Chivi and Bhuka on a daily basis.
“Parents on the other hand should bear with teachers and consider their plight that is in terms of their upkeep so that we maintain the standards. The school has at times experienced a staff exodus where we lose experienced teachers like right now we have lost our seasoned Accounts teacher,” said Matongo.
Hard work, commitment and team work: the key behind success-History teacher
After leading the class of 2022 that saw a total of 28 learners scoring As in the Advanced level examinations, with 16 Bs and 2 Cs, history teacher Trida Huni said she cannot even believe it that such a big number of learners managed to come out with flying colours. The percentage pass rate in history is 100.
“I can’t even believe it right now that we managed to post such impressive results. I am still in a state of shock at realization that the learners had done so well and today we are celebrating the fruits of hard work. Laziness is not part of our vocabulary at Ndarama.
“At first, the learners had negative attitudes and perceptions towards the learning area but we did well to convince them and they positively responded and they become cooperative. The secret behind our success story is hard work where we would give learners a lot of written work as a way of preparing them when it comes to Essay writing and the skills required in writing those academic pieces. I had to motivate the learners that through hard work, they were going to achieve something good,” said Huni.
She went on to pay tribute to fellow teachers in their line department and team work as another factor behind the good results.
“Team work involving fellow teachers in our department is also another factor. At times, I had to consult other teachers in the department here and there and fortunately, they would chip in and assist. At the end of the day we got to realize these good results,” she added.
Departmental team work behind our success story- FRS teacher
Though running short of words to explain how such good results were attained, Precious Munyaradzi said the spirit of togetherness that brought together teachers in their department and learners is the secret behind the fairy tale run.
Family and Religious Studies (FRS) had the highest number of As totaling up to 30 with 14 Bs and 2 Cs resulting in a 100 percent pass rate in ‘A’ level.
“All I can say is that we work together as a group and thus can attribute the high pass rate percentage to team work with fellow teachers. We always look at ways of how best we can motivate our learners so that they do away with the negative attitude towards our particular learning area,” said Munyaradzi.
Hard working culture and learners’ effort crucial- Maths teacher
Also in denial of lagging behind is the Mathematics department where both Ordinary and Advanced Levels fared well as is shown by the results obtained.
Maths teacher Chipo Chizimba said despite the subject at times encountering challenges in terms of ‘phobia’ on the part of learners, the department remains determined and committed to producing good results.
“Maths phobia is one major undoing that affects most learners. So what we have done at Ndarama is that we start by ensuring that we clear and get rid of the phobia by showing learners how possible it is to pass Mathematics. These young learners need an appreciation of their capabilities and after clearing that ground, then you inculcate the spirit of hard work in them.
“I always remind our learners that their part is two thirds while the teacher is responsible for one third for results to come out good. At Ndarama, we always encourage our learners to work hard. The fact that Mathematics is a daily subject shows the amount of work that is required of the learning area. Motivation, hard work and the way we celebrate with learners in event of good results even at end of terms are key drivers behind our success. That way we show an appreciation of the effort by learners and that keeps on motivating them to even work harder,” said Chizimba.
She also said extra lessons for free that are done during weekends or even holidays also helps drive the ambitions of the department.
“Sometimes we give learners extra work even if it means coming to school during holidays or over the weekends. As teachers, we do this for free for our aim is to make sure we show all the love we have for the success of our learners and in turn they put more effort to please us. It’s all out of sacrifice,” she added.
