Thirty adult students from the Ocean View Night School Centre had a valedictory service and matric ball on Saturday.
The morning valedictory service, at Ocean View High School, was attended by family, friends, and special guests, including councillors Patricia Francke and Simon Liell-Cock, and the Ocean View Cadets provided a guard of honour for the students as they entered the school hall.
Ms Francke, who had to drop out of school after Grade 7, spoke about her own experience as one of the first students in the night-school programme.
“People said I was mad and wasting my energy and time,” she said. “But I wanted to set the example for my sons and for the community. There are lots of people who have the skills but not the qualification.”
The programme, which began in September 2022, offers classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 6pm to 9pm at Ocean View High School.
The latest cohort of students launched a BackaBuddy campaign earlier this year to hold their matric ball at the Simon’s Town Country Club (“Night school students raise funds for matric ball,” Echo March 14).
They raised R6 000 of the R10 000 target, according to student Mishkah Potts.
“Although we didn’t raise all the funds, we had enough to hold the ball at the country club. We decided to cover the food costs ourselves, and it worked out well,” she said.
“Our valedictory and matric ball celebration was a huge success and so much fun. Now we await our results on Wednesday August 7,“ the 32-year-old said.
Once she receives her results, her plan is to study business management or human resources management part-time.
Vasco Vigis, 45, who dropped out of high school in Grade 10, said: “Should my marks be good enough, it’s my intention to become a teacher so that I can make a positive impact on a child’s life while they’re still developing.
“It took me 27 years to get my certification, which coincides with Mandela Month. He spent 27 years in prison, and it took me 27 years to gain my educational freedom.”
