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Lumbidzani Dima, Chronicle Reporter
A seventeen-year-old Dominican Convent School wunderkind in Bulawayo has attained 10 straight As after writing Cambridge November 2021 Ordinary Level Examinations, defying school disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Of the 10, seven are A stars while three are As.

She got A stars in Geography, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physical Science, Accounting, IsiZulu, Biology, Accounting, and As in Computer Science, French and English Language.

The whiz kid told Chronicle that she was ecstatic about her great achievement and she aims to continue doing good in the walk of life, while proving that a girl child can do equally well as a boy child.

Anele Ngulube of Pumula East did Grade One to Four at Hillside Primary School and went to Sacred Heart Primary School in Esigodini as a boarder from Grade Five to Grade Seven. In Grade Seven, she attained six units after writing five subjects.

She then proceeded to Dominican Convent for her secondary level education.

Anele said she believes she was able to achieve 10As because she prepared herself for exams way before even registering for them as she does not believe in last minute touches.

“My secret is reading, just getting used to the culture of reading is really helpful.

I believe that a person who wants to do great should always prepare themselves while there is still time.

Personally, I started preparing for my exams when I was still in Form Three so that I don’t have pressure when exams are approaching,” said Anele.

“That helped me a lot because towards exams I did not feel the need to read notes from notebooks and textbooks; it was just revision from past exam papers.”

She said she did not do extra lessons and depended on online lessons when learning institutions were closed due to the threat posed by Covid-19.

Anele said she sometimes missed the online lessons due to electricity outages.

“I depended on online lessons from my school during the lockdown, and to a certain extent they contributed to my achievement.

The challenge that I faced was missing lessons when there was no electricity.

That was the greatest inconvenience I encountered.

I had to ask those who attended to explain to me in voice notes on WhatsApp,” said Ms Ngulube.

She said she wants to proceed to Advanced Level to do Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology.

After high school, she has set her sights on a career in medicine; specifically she wants to become a cardiologist.

A cardiologist is a doctor who specialises in the study or treatment of heart diseases and heart abnormalities.

Anele said so many people die of heart diseases and she wants to find a solution.

What can those who are writing exams this year learn from her?

“I urge my peers who are candidates this year to start being serious and prepare themselves as soon as possible, because reading under pressure is not nice,” she said.

Anele is the second child in a family of three, and her parents are both civil servants.

Her father works at Mhlahlandlela, and her mother is a teacher at Amhlophe High School in Pumula East.

Her mother, Mrs Nothile Ngulube said she was excited about her daughter’s results, even if she never expected them.

“I knew that she would pass her exams, but not to this extent; this is a shocker.

I am a Maths teacher, but she never consulted me on anything that’s why I thought maybe she was ignorant.

She is very quiet and does her things on her own.

On consultation day we even asked if they give them homework at school because we see her reading her books but she never asks, we were thinking that maybe she was just staring at words without understanding anything,” said Mrs Ngulube.

She said she wants the best for her daughter that is why they sacrificed by enrolling her in a private school despite being civil servants.

“Her father and myself sacrificed a lot to make sure that she gets quality education by enrolling her at Dominican Convent.

We really appreciate her effort and wish her well as she continues with her studies.

These results make us not regret sacrificing the little that we earn for her studies. I am so happy,” said Mrs Ngulube.