All-rounder plans to study in US
Ro-ee Tal managed to bag 10 distinctions despite not finishing his Afrikaans matric final exam.
|||Ro-ee Tal’s heart sank after his Afrikaans matric final exam when he realised he had left out the whole last page of the paper.
Despite this unfortunate mistake, the 18-year-old has managed to bag distinctions for all of his subjects - eight for his IEB matric exams and two for the extra subjects AP English and AP maths.
He was also within the IEB’s top 5 percent of students in five subjects.
Ro-ee, who attended King David High School in Linksfield, realised he had missed a page after the exam only when, huddled in a group, some of his friends discussed the question paper.
Ro-ee isn't one to turn down a challenge, and his favourite subjects were the most difficult ones: AP maths and AP English.
“I liked them the most and I appreciated them the most because they weren’t typical high school subjects where you just learn from a textbook and regurgitate,” he said.
These subjects involved much more thought and curiosity and were also more challenging, he explained.
“In AP English you’re required to do analysis on your own, your own thoughts and opinions, and they’re a lot more about philosophy and about what the writer has to say about the society he grew up in.
“So I think it’s a lot more meaningful and a lot more applicable.”
Ro-ee’s achievements weren’t limited to academics.
The teen played first team rugby and soccer which, unsurprisingly, earned him the trophy for the best boy all-rounder in the school.
He was also a student leader and took part in debating.
Doing 10 subjects involved a heavy workload but Ro-ee said he set his goals at the beginning of the year and used self-motivation to stick to them throughout the year. His family, importantly, supported his goals and accommodated him however they could.
He also made sure his time management was excellent, saying it was important to listen in class, rather than fooling around, so that there was no need to go through the work on his own after the class.
Ro-ee has started applying to tertiary institutions in the US, where he wants to study electrical engineering, when their first term starts in September.
“The schools I’m applying to aren’t paralleled anywhere in the world. If I had an idea, the school would help me actualise it. I think that’s a major part of engineering, not just the studying part.”
Ro-ee said he was not nervous about getting his results and would be celebrating his achievements with his friends in Cape Town, where he is on holiday.
gabi.falanga@inl.co.za
@Gabi_Falanga
The Star