Learners of Muraga Primary School, outside Thohoyandou, have made their parents and the local community proud through their choral music skills.

The school, which has not been participating in choral music competitions for the past eight years, bounced back like thunder when they scooped the first position in the intermediate section of the South African Choral Music Thohoyandou East Competitions.

The young choristers impressed the judges with their rendition of the Afrikaans song, Doedoe Baba, Doedoe, composed by CGS de Villiers. The competitions were held at Tshedza Comprehensive School in Thohoyandou on Saturday. Much to their delight, the 50 choristers were presented with a special trophy after the competition. A special function to celebrate the achievement was held at the school on Tuesday.

Choir conductor and educator at the school Mr Thomas Ramudzuli admits that winning the competitions was not a bed of roses. "I started teaching at this school in March and started preparing the choir. I was totally new to the kids and it was not easy to train them. But after some time, they became used to me and we developed a good working relationship. The kids have not been participating in choral music for quite some time and it was not easy to get them into tune. Because I have been conducting school choirs since 1989, I used my experience to bring back the choristers into the music world – hence our memorable achievement."

School principal Mr Rathiyaya Booi was also on cloud nine, following the achievement by his school. "I am the happiest man on earth today because my school is now on the map. We are still going to make another impact when our school proceeds to Lemana Multipurpose centre for the same competitions next month." Head of department David Mamushiana echoed the same sentiments: "We want to show everyone that we exist and we are still going to impress, regardless of our rural origin."