Catching up with Erongo’s top performers

Leandrea Louw

The Erongo Region not only had some of the best-performing schools last year, but top-performing learners too.

Maurice Hinterholzer from Walvis Bay Private High School was the top NSSCH performer in the country. He is currently pursuing a medical degree in South Africa.

Duinesig Combined School’s Shiponeni Tulipomwene was the overall best performer in the region in six subjects on Ordinary Level.

Zurialle de Bairros, also from Walvis Bay Private High School, was the overall top performer in the region in both NSSCH and NSSCO subjects.

De Bairros says prioritisation, never giving up and surrounding herself with people who have similar goals contributed to her results.

“For me, high school was like running a great marathon. At first everything seemed easy but the closer I got to the finish line the more difficult and demanding everything became. My final year was definitely the most challenging one.

“To achieve the results I desired during the final exams I set up an extremely strict study schedule. Eating a healthy diet also made a difference as it is the key to a healthy mind and necessary as stress increases the risk of catching a cold.

“It’s no secret that studying while being ill is quite challenging. Going for a walk or jogging to get fresh air helped me to deal with the exam stress, which made focusing more difficult, and to get my body active after a long day behind the books,” she says.

De Bairros is currently an intern at the auditing firm Ernst & Young in Windhoek. She plans to study chartered accounting through Unisa while working at EY.

She advises those currently in their final year at school to seek help from others. “When something seems challenging, seek help. Work hard to achieve your dreams because it will all be worth it in the end.”

Namib High School’s Leen Matthew Hanghome was the second overall best performer in the region for both NSSCH and NSSCO.

She credits her success to a daily routine that she had to teach herself to adhere to.

“I realised that during that time I really had to grow closer to God and strengthen myself spiritually. During this time my family supported my 110%. My mom is my biggest motivator. I honestly have no idea how I achieved such great results. It was always so stressful after we finished writing but I tried to remain focused no matter what. One of the other ways were doing research by watching YouTube videos on certain topics but this was extremely tempting because Netflix was always a click away.”

She is currently studying medical laboratory sciences at the Namibian University of Science and Technology.

“My teachers and school played a huge role; without them nothing would've been possible. The environment and vibe at Namib High was always so tranquil and peaceful. Our teachers are really the cream of the crop and were always willing to assist and give advice.”

Metumu Tjimune from Westside High School, the third overall best performer in the region, is currently studying towards her degree in business science, specialising in analytics, at the University of Cape Town.

Tjimune was a top performer at school, the editor of the school newspaper, The Oryx, as well as the LRC chairperson.

“I focused on the task at hand. My friend once told me I’m such a loser for not bunking class and being a model student, so I guess I had to be a loser to win at the end of the day.

“I am the oldest of seven siblings, so I had to be a role model and study hard to be one day be able to take care of them. I believe that was my biggest motivation to study hard. There are people who depend on me; it’s not just about me, it is about my siblings as well. I wanted to be proud of my grades, and I wanted my parents to be proud of me.”

Tulipomwene Shiponeni from Duinesig was the best overall regional performer in the NSSCO results, followed by Terry-Pee Poly from Kolin Foundation and Colista Platt from De Duine Secondary School.

Leen Matthew Hanghombe from Namib High School was the overall best candidate in accounting (NSSCO), Tulimpowene Shiponeni was the best economics (NSSCO) candidate, Ebson Xaweb from Kolin Foundation and Ndapandomwene Mwoombola from Kuisebmond Secondary School were the best entrepreneurship (NSSCO) candidates. Uriah Martley from Kuisebmond Secondary School was the overall best mathematics (NSSCO) candidate.