Principals award matrics 20/20 for resilience and tenacity

King David High School Victory Park, Andrew Baker

At King David High School Victory Park, we celebrate the outstanding achievement of our entire matric class of 2020 in the IEB (Independent Examinations Board) final examinations. They have all surpassed our expectations in a year filled with seemingly insurmountable challenges.

We salute their tenacity and determination to achieve such significant results. This remarkable group of students all achieved a personal best, and the steep upward trajectory in their marks from Grade 11 finals through to the preliminary examinations and into their finals is testament to their attitude and work ethic.

At the same time, we recognise the academic excellence of our top performers. No fewer than 10 candidates achieved averages exceeding 90%, and six students were recognised on the prestigious IEB listings of commendable and outstanding achievement. It’s certainly no mean feat of accomplishment for 96% of the grade to achieve averages of 60% and over. Mazaltov to the entire group, and kol hakavod to all their teachers.

Herzlia, Marc Falconer

We celebrate our 2020 matric group and its achievements – the best ever by a Herzlia matric cohort.

There were 97 matric scholars and a 100% pass rate, with every candidate who entered the National Senior Certificate being awarded a Bachelor Degree pass (university exemption).

There were 416 individual subject distinctions, with an average of 4.3 distinctions per candidate. All 15 pupils on the educational support programme passed with a Bachelor Degree pass, with not one subject failure.

In any year, these results would have been exceptional, but in the context of the global pandemic and the extraordinary challenges this brought, the results of the 2020 group are astonishing.

Every pupil, irrespective of distinctions, deserves to be commended for their resilience, grit, focus, and dedication in a year characterised by change, loss, grief, but also by adaptability, determination, innovation, and camaraderie.

It’s important to note that during 2020, the dedication, adaptability, and unquestioned investment by each of the teachers was far beyond the norm.

It’s also important to recognise the extraordinary work of the educational support department and the counsellors who supported so many students (and their parents), not just academically but in every aspect of their last challenging year at school.

Parents have also played a vital role in supporting, encouraging, and nurturing their children at this highly stressed time.

While it’s fitting to celebrate outstanding results, these statistics don’t, however, tell the whole story. For many pupils who are part of our inclusive school, their matric results need to be understood in their specific context. We are often more proud of these difficult-to-discern triumphs than the more obvious achievements.

Education is about results as well as the values, skills, habits, and relationships that our pupils take out into the world after they leave school.

Mazaltov to our matric group of 2020!

Torah Academy Boys High School, Rabbi Motti Hadar

I take my hat off to the matrics of 2020!

Last year was the opposite of the typical and what we think of as “ideal”. Yet somehow, among the chaos, uncertainty, and ever-changing landscape of education, our matric students inspired me every day with their grit, determination, flexibility, and commitment.

In spite of all the setbacks, the matrics of Torah Academy Boys High School excelled, reaching their goals, exceeding our expectations, and making us truly proud!

With a 100% pass rate, multiple distinctions, and marks into the 90s, they have truly outdone themselves. All while not compromising on their full curriculum of limudei kodesh, Jewish Studies.

Matrics, far more important than your results – which will stand you in good stead – are the lessons you have learnt this past year. To maintain focus when chaos surrounds you, to be flexible and adaptive to change, to learn new things, to learn old things in new ways, to remain positive in the face of difficulty, and to strive for your goals and do your ultimate best no matter the circumstances.

If matric is the first step towards a successful future, the matrics of 2020 have not just stepped into a bright tomorrow, they have all taken an admirable leap forward.

Their tenacity, courage, determination, creativity, and resolve this past year has inspired me.

Hirsch Lyons, Rabbi Steven Krawitz

Matriculants in a normal year experience pressure and anxiety. Matric during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 was exponentially more demanding. It’s in this context that the matric year and all schools’ results of 2020 need to be appreciated, and all our students and staff recognised for their superhuman efforts.

Hirsch Lyons High Schools moved to online classes before the end of March, and didn’t return until after prelims in late September for a few lessons and oral moderations. The majority of all syllabi were taught over Zoom, as were most assessments. Teachers went far beyond the call of duty to ensure that all aspects of their subject were understood.

When the matric results finally came out, Hirsch Lyons celebrated the unbelievable results of our outstanding students. There were a total of 58 distinctions from 15 students, an average of 3.8 distinctions per student. More than half of all results were distinctions, and 81% of all results were above 70%. All Hirsch Lyons students can progress to tertiary study.

But what makes us at Hirsch Lyons so proud of our graduates is not only the number of distinctions they achieved, but also the distinction of personality that they embody. They are proud Torah Jews, who have refined middos, character traits, a dedication to the Jewish nation, and the desire to improve the society within which they live.

At Hirsch Lyons, we believe we are like an airport runway, preparing airplanes for take-off, giving students the necessary Torah and academic knowledge, skills, and character refinement for life. We are proud of the students, and wish them and all the matriculants of 2020 every brocha of success as they continue the next part of the journey of their life.

Yeshiva College, Rob Long

At Yeshiva College, we are exceptionally proud of our matric class of 2020. Not only has it produced outstanding matric results, the class has also grown into fine young men and women who we believe will make a profound and positive mark on society.

The class of 2020’s achievement of 100% pass rate and 100% university entrance is indicative of its hard work, dedication, and resilience during what has been a challenging year.

Paramount to the success of our students is the special relationship between our dedicated staff and motivated students. The grade average across 17 subjects of 76% demonstrates that our students are motivated to do well in a school culture that promotes excellence.

Our academic staff has high expectations for our students, and our teachers encourage and support them to achieve their potential. The grade distinction average of 3.5 distinctions per student, and the fact that we had six students in the top 1% in English, Life Orientation, and Life Sciences is indicative of the level of excellence for which teachers and students strive.

Matric is the culmination of 12 years of school in which each year builds on the year before it. We thus acknowledge all our teachers who have taught our students over the past 12 years. We wish the class of 2020 all the best as they embark on their studies and future endeavours in Israel and around the world.

Torah Academy Girls High School, Morah Rebecca Sarchi

As Chabad chassidim, we strive to live by the saying l’chatchila ariber. Simply explained, if you cannot crawl under an obstacle, try to leap over it. The fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe said, “Leap over it in the first place. Just go for it!”

That’s exactly what the matrics of 2020 from Torah Academy Girls High School did. With each obstacle they encountered, they jumped, and each time they jumped higher and higher. Seemingly no obstacle was too big to deter them from achieving their goals.

They lived and learned in spite of COVID-19. Each of them aimed high, worked hard, and played hard. They took nothing for granted, and appreciated every online lesson, extra lesson, and every single teacher.

They invested endless hours into revising and practising past papers. With exams behind them, and uncertainty the new mantra of the world, they started planning the next steps in their life journey.

We all know that a diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure. So to each of my matrics, I say your sparkle lights up the world. Your value is tremendous, and your matric achievements are excellent and humbling.

Keep shining and striving and make this world a brighter and better place. You can do it – remember l’chatchila ariber.

King David High School Linksfield, Lorraine Srage

King David High School Linksfield 2020 matriculants have brought credit to themselves, their families, the school, and the community at large.

We know that writing matric during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t an easy time for them and their families, but the buzzword of 2020, “pivot”, and all it entails belongs to this group of students.

They understood the sacrifices that keeping themselves and their families safe entailed, and they graciously gave up sports matches, musicals, matric dances, and 18th birthday parties, and joined the responsible adult world a year before it was absolutely necessary. I commend the courageous way in which the matrics pivoted and focused on getting through the year as best as they could.

Even more so, all of these sacrifices are evident in our outstanding matric results that King David High School Linksfield has achieved.

All 149 students passed, with all except one receiving a university entrance. A total of 504 distinctions were obtained, that is 3.4 distinctions per student. Seventeen percent of students achieved a “full house” of seven distinctions or more. Twenty-three students were placed in the top 1% in the country in certain subjects. One student was placed on the IEB Outstanding Achievements List (within the top 5% in six subjects or more and 80% or more in Life Orientation) and two students were placed on the IEB Commendable Achievements List (within the top 5% in five subjects and 80% or more for Life Orientation). What’s particularly outstanding is that all of our students in the educational support programme obtained a university entrance.

However, our success isn’t just measured in distinctions, it’s measured in the meeting of potential, in fulfilled dreams.

We measure success also in the students who didn’t believe that they could pass matric, and did; the students who didn’t believe that they could obtain a university entrance, and did; the students who didn’t even believe that matric was a vague possibility for them, but who did it.

Winston Churchill said, “Success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal: it’s the courage to continue that counts.” And continue we did. With courage. The matrics inspired me. The matrics are my success.

Our students were able to reap the benefits of a privileged education, and my sincere wish is that they will all make their mark as well as make a difference.