adminRay Bande Senior Reporter
TOP scoring St Faith’s High School just outside Rusape had 29 candidates who attained 15 points and above in last year’s Zimsec Advanced Level exams, with their highest student attaining 25 points.
According to a cursory analysis done when the results were passing through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education provincial offices, St Faith’s High had the highest number of students who attained 15 points and above followed by Kriste Mambo and St Augustine’s High School who had 11 candidates apiece.
Marist Brothers had 10 candidates that had 15 points and above.
Provincial Education Director, Mr Edward Shumba, confirmed the results, saying there was an upward trend in terms of performance of pupils in schools in Manicaland.
He said the rough assessment showed that the performance of some day schools like Sakubva High School was impressive.
“Generally, we witnessed an upward trend in terms of the performance of candidates in schools in Manicaland, though it is still difficult to qualify.
“We are also happy that some day schools like Sakubva High are impressive. They have eight students with 15 points and above and some mission schools are below that at least from the casual look that we took. Yes, the majority of the boarding schools have that, but I want to believe that it is not just a question of the high fliers that we select, but the ability of the teachers to manage those post O-Level students. You are aware that our mission schools say they want five As and the like, but Sakubva is an ordinary day school, but scores high like that. I think it is a question of attitude and approach that matters.
“It is difficult to be specific in terms of qualifying these results. I will get the whole picture when the districts submit their analysis of the results. We only did this casual analysis when the results were just passing through.
“I want to particularly thank the teachers for their hard work. It comes out of serious planning, hard work and sometimes sleepless nights. I really want to thank the teachers and the headmaster for their efforts,” he said.
Other schools with candidates who scored 15 points and above include Nyazura Adventist (five), Emmanuel High (four), St Mary’s Magadaline (two), St David’s Bonda (four), Hartzell (five), St Dominic’s (three), Marange High (three), Mutare Girls’ High (two), Sakubva (eight), St Joseph’s (three), Makombe (four), Nyashanu (two), Murambinda (one), Hande (two), Muzokomba (two), Gaza High (one) Biriiri (one) and Nyanyadzi (one).
An excited St Faith’s High headmaster, Mr Moses Mukoyi, said: “Spend a day at St Faith’s and you will certainly notice the ambiance at the school-positive, purposeful and business-like. That environment is not a fluke or one day wonder. It is a culture assiduously cultivated over the years. It has transformed into a vibrant way of life. We are simply enjoying the fruits of that culture. As I have said before, it is an institutionalised success momentum.
“In Physics, the word ‘momentum’ refers to the tendency of a body to maintain inertia motion. Our success culture has remained in motion and for that we thank God Almighty.”
He added: “It is undermined by positive inputs from that absolutely essential threesome-the staff, students and parents-united by one overarching goal which is to produce good results. In making this statement, I am informed by 37 years in education including 25 years at that amazing school – St Faith’s.
“Pass-rate is still at 100 percent. Still excellent quality, some of the best in Zimbabwe. For us, what matters is not the number of passes at A-Level, but the quality. Three Es are passes, but that is only three points. In this highly competitive world with limited opportunities, the guy with limited opportunities, the guy with mediocre passes will have limited career opportunities. By the way, St Faith’s is a powerhouse in the Sciences.”
Online Reporter