Why your Matric year is vitally important for a successful future

You will remember your Matric year for your entire life. It ends your school years and unlocks the door to your future, whether you are intending to study further or start working after school.

Grade 11 was a tough year, and you may even have been told that Grade 11 is the toughest and most important year of your high school career. If you have any intentions of tertiary study, you would have been told that your final Grade 11 results give you a provisional acceptance into university study.

While this is true, your Matric year is vitally important to your future in several ways:

Academic

• Your admittance to university ultimately depends on your final Matric results. Although you may have got straight A’s in Grade 11, if you goof off in Matric and all your marks drop, you have no guarantee of a university acceptance.
• There are far more university applicants than there are places on offer, so you will not be accepted with mediocre marks. Work hard in Matric!
• Grade 12 has a high workload which you will need to negotiate in order to fit in all your studies. You will need to develop some time management skills which you may have not used or developed before. These will be so important in your future.
• Remember that you have a short teaching school year due to all the exams you will be writing this year. You will write mid-year exams in June/July, prelims around September and finals in October/November. You will thus be writing exams most of the year!
• Pay attention in class. Ask your teacher if you do not understand anything. Your teachers are keen to see you do well and are normally more than willing to assist you.

Tip 1: develop a study plan to ensure that you cover all your subjects and stick to it! Tweak it if necessary but stick to it otherwise! See our tips on how to create a study plan here.

Tip 2: Start working from the beginning of the year! This will take some of the strain off you. Do your homework and ensure that you are understanding the work as you go along. If you run into any trouble with hard-to-understand work, get help sooner rather than later. Hire an experienced and supportive tutor from BrightSparkz Tutors to assist you. They have already successfully negotiated the path that you find yourself on.

Social

• You will need to manage your time well in order to fit in sports or extra-mural activities as well as some time for a social life with your friends.
• The better organised you are, the easier it will be to fit everything in. It is good to have balance in your life and not only study all the time. Be sure to factor in some rest and relaxation into your schedule as well.
• Even if you don’t like sport or exercise, it is vitally important to you when you have such intense study to focus on. All the oxygen your brain will get from you exercising will improve your concentration, as well as give you a healthy, fit body! Choose any form of exercise you prefer, whether a team sport, jogging with a friend, or working out alone in the gym.
• The Matric Dance or Matric Farewell is on the cards and it is the social event of the year! It is a time that most Grade 12’s look forward to. Even if you are not looking forward to it, it is important to attend the event as it is something which defines an end of a phase in your life and you may always regret not attending. It is also an event that many people reminisce about in years to come.
• The Matric Dance can be an expensive event, but with some forward planning and saving towards it, you can make the financial impact more bearable. It is also any opportunity to learn about working within a budget and prioritising the elements important to you.

Personal growth and experience

• Matric is an intense year, full of growth opportunities. It is likely the year where you become old enough to vote in the elections, get a driver’s license – and some independence!
• You are now a young adult, although still dependent on your parents as you are not yet earning an income and most likely you still live at home.
• You are beginning to realise that life is opening up for you, and you have many choices to make. The choices you make in this year can set you up for a successful life in the future, or conversely, set you back. This is a daunting thought and might scare you.
• Remember though that you still have support and resources from your family, school, and friends before you are expected to test your wings and fly on your own. Take advantage of the support you have to grow in life skills, maturity, and even to gain some work experience in your areas of interest if possible.
• Put some thought into how you’d like your future to look. How are you going to earn a living as an adult? Getting some part time work experience can help you decide!
• If you intend to study further after Matric, put some serious thought into what you will study. You will likely be doing that work for many years. How will your studies be funded?
• Students are often short of money and you may need to take on a part-time job to help fund your studies or at least your social life. Consider tutoring as an option. It is a way to learn valuable life skills and give back to others who can benefit from your skills.

“BrightSparkz is a great way to gain work experience and help young people excel in life”. (Stephen M.)

“I have had a very positive experience working with BrightSparkz. The reps are friendly, every email exchange has been pleasant. They are exceptionally organised, and I feel comfortable knowing I’m working for a serious, reputable company” (Molly J)

Plan to make your Matric year amazing! Learn to manage your time and develop important life skills. Enjoy your friends and family. Plan to study from the beginning and do your best. Make this year memorable for all the right reasons!

Written by Natalie Wilke, BrightSparkz Staff & Blog Writer