"Dedication and sleepless nights are the secret behind my success," said Lloyd Serongwa of Kutama High, who passed matric with eight distinctions.

Serongwa (18), said that dedicating his time to school work made him realize his dream. "I knew I was going to achieve what I did. I had dedicated all my time to my books," he said.

Despite coming from a disadvantaged school, which is situated in the dusty Muduluni rural village in the Kutama area, Serongwa got 100% in mathematics. According to him, being a medical doctor has always been his dream. "I am proud that I will now realize my dream to study medicine. I have always wanted to be a doctor and now my dreams are coming true," he added.

Serongwa will start with his first year in medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand this year.

He said he was not suprised that he got 100% in maths, because he always loved and enjoyed the subject. He said he wanted to see more pupils from his school excelling in maths and science. "Our country needs doctors and engineers and if more pupils do maths and science at school, there won´t be a shortage of doctors and engineers in the country. It is only us young people who can change that by studying hard," said Serongwa.

Kutama High School Principal Mr Balcan Ramasindi congratulated Serungwa on his achievement. He said Serongwa had done the school and the Kutama community proud. "Hopefully other pupils will emulate him and do what Serongwa has done. We are really proud of him; he has put our school on the map," he said.

Sirungwa´s father, Mr Abel Seronga, said as the family they were very proud of his son´s achievement and that they would support him until he realized his dream of becoming a doctor.