Online Reporter
Judith Phiri, Zimpapers Writer
A PAMUSHANA High School in Bikita, Masvingo Province whizkid, Mukudzei Ziveyi (19) is basking in A-level results glory after obtaining a whopping 56 points from the 12 subjects he sat for in the 2025 Advanced (A) Level Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) examinations.
He scored As (5 points) in Additional Mathematics, Mechanical Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Geography, Pure Mathematics, Software Engineering, Statistics, Crop Science and Economics, a B (4 points) in Chemistry and a D (2 points) in Accounting.
Asked about his motivation in an interview with Sunday News yesterday, Ziveyi who comes from Chivhu said he was pushed by the desire to study Aerospace Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Aerospace engineering is the field focused on designing, developing, testing and manufacturing aircraft and spacecraft, covering both flight within Earth’s atmosphere (aeronautics) and space (astronautics).
While his peers wrote three to five subjects for their A-level examinations, Ziveyi said he knew he needed to have sleepless nights studying the 12 subjects, so that he could fulfil his dream of getting a scholarship.
“I give glory to God, because without praying this would not have been possible. I actually started off with eight subjects for Lower 6 whose syllabuses I read and finished. Then l added four other subjects when I was in Upper 6 to bring the total to 12 subjects. The advantage I had was that I studied for the other subjects well in advance to cover the ground in a short period of time which would have ordinarily required much more time,” he said.
He said he would try by all means to ensure he attends at least one lesson for each of the 12 subjects per week as some subjects would clash on the timetable.
Ziveyi said there were four subjects that would clash on the timetable and he had to devise a strategy to ensure he gives them equal attention.
“Even for examinations there were subjects that were clashing but the school applied for a timetable deviation for me from Zimsec so that I can be able to write all the subjects. There are instances where I would write an examination and get a 15 minutes break before I could start the next one,” he added.
He said after seeing his results he has started applying for scholarships anticipating to get one as soon as possible so that he can start the Aerospace Engineering studies that would one day land him his dream job in the aviation space.
Academic excellence is not new for Ziveyi. In the 2023 Ordinary (O) Level Zimsec examinations, he was among a total of 80 learners that scored five As at the same school. Infact he was the highest scoring 15As.
His mother, Ms Loise Maisiri could not hold back her joy, thanking God for the success of her children with one of Ziveyi’s brothers, a professor in Actuarial Sciences and Mathematics in Australia while his sister is a Mechanical Engineer and another is pursuing nursing.
“Mukudzei has always been a bookworm from a tender age just like all his other siblings. At first when he told us that he wanted to write 12 subjects for A-level Zimsec examinations I was a bit sceptical and l even encouraged him to write only six subjects so that he does not burden himself,” she said.
“He begged us, me and his father (Mr Elson Ziveyi) and we eventually gave in and granted him his wish. We sold three cows so that he could register for those 12 subjects he wanted, the other money also came from his father’s salary,” she said.
She said though they were a bit skeptical, they had faith in him considering how he passed his Grade 7 and O-level examinations.
Ms Maisiri said she was also grateful to the teachers that stood by her son as he underwent his journey of studying for 12 subjects.
Pamushana High School Deputy Headmaster, Mr Emmanuel Zingoni commended Ziveyi for his dedication and commitment towards his school work.
“He has always been a bright student and we are very proud of him for raising the school flag high. I will admit l did at one point try to reason with him that 12 subjects were too much for A Level but he assured us that he was going to give equal attention to all of them,” he said.
“To ensure that we would be able to write all the 12 subjects, we applied for a timetable deviation from Zimsec 60 days before the examination for special arrangements. This is for candidates with clashing examination papers scheduled at the same time,” he said.
For such a scenario Zimsec supervisors manage the alternate sitting, ensuring isolation and strict adherence to rules to prevent cheating, as standard examinations must run to their exact scheduled times.
