Mbilwi does it again!

One of the country's top performing schools, Mbilwi Secondary School in Vhembe, which has been producing excellent and quality results for years, continues to shine.

The school, which has been producing a 100% pass rate for more than ten years, and has been the first school to join the elite clubs of higher achievers in maths and science, attained the best 2012 Grade 12 results in Limpopo.

Out of the total number of those who wrote, 325 obtained university exemption, 93 obtained senior certificates without exemption, while three pupils did not pass, giving the school a 99,3% pass rate.

The school attained 715 distinctions in different subjects, of which the most were in maths and science.

When Limpopo Mirror visited the school early this week, it was back to work for teachers, who were fresh from the school holidays, and excited pupils collecting their results.

In an interview, the principal, Mr Cedric Lidzhade, who is also a former pupil of the school, pointed out that the school was no different from other schools but had a secret menu which made them high achievers. "Last year, we had a record 421 pupils who wrote the examinations, a number which other schools cannot cope with. We continued the tradition of high achievements, with nearly all of them passing their examinations.

"Our classes are also overcrowded, with some classes even having 70 pupils, which made it difficult to give them personal attention, but we soldiered on and achieved the best," said Lidzhade, who was oozing with confidence. He said they worked as a family, with a lot of attention given to pupils and advising them on their personal lives.

"We are parents here at school. Some of our pupils sometimes get lost and we call them to order. We are very proud to say that some of those we helped managed to get many distinctions and made the school very proud," said Lidzhade.

He was also quick to dispel the rumour that only the best pupils are admitted at the school, which supposedly gives them an advantage over the other schools when it comes to quality results. "The selection tests were done away with a long time ago. We give all pupils an equal chance, and we admit them on a first-come-first-served basis, where everyone has a chance to study here. We have our own secret; we have what we call team teaching, where more than one teacher teaches a subject, with different educators doing different papers. We are also united as staff, which is part of the recipe for our success, and we will continue working for the best and continue making the country proud," added Lidzhade.

One of the best pupils, Mandlakhe Maphaha (18), who will soon be studying actuarial science at the University of Cape Town, said he lacked words to thank his principal and teachers. "They never stopped believing in me and I will always have a special room for them in my heart," he said.

His mother, Suthu Maphaha was over the moon. "This boy made us very proud and we have no doubt he will go out there and make the best," she said.

News - Date: 14 January 2013

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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