4 GOT A NEWS STORY? Call our news desk on (043) 702 2125 or (043) 702 2046. Find us on Facebook 25 February 2021 GO & EXPRESSMerrifield joy at 100% pass rate92% averagefor SarahMcCauslandMATTHEW FIELDFriday was one of joy forMerrifield College’s matricclass of 2020 as theycelebrated their 100% pass ratewith a special function at theMerrifield Club House.In addition to a full pass rate,the class also achieved a 100%b a ch e l o r ’s pass rate with 32% ofstudents achieving averages ofover 80%.Overall, 95 distinctions wereaccompished by 43 pupils.The top achiever was SarahMcCausland, who was the onlyEastern Cape pupil to be placed❝ You put your headsdown and just keptgoing. You’ve gotcoping skills that noother year has hadCLASS ACT: Merrifield's matric class of 2020 celebrated their outstanding results last week Picture: MATTHEW FIELDon the Independent EducationBoard’s (IEB's) list of outstandinga ch i e ve r s .McCausland earned eightdistinctions, with an average of92%, and is placed in the top1% nationally for life sciencesand geography.Other top achievers wereZoë Sparg, with eightdistinctions and top 1%nationally in visual arts;Catherine Williams-Jones, withseven distinctions and top 1%nationally for life sciences, and;Camille Beau, with sevendistinctions.Speaking at Friday’s event,Merrifield executive headDr Guy Hartley said he wasproud of the students for theirincredible results.“We know all you had toface last year, all thosechallenges and difficulties, andyet you’ve really hung in there,”Hartley said.He also thanked the school’steachers for their work inassisting students during anexceptionally difficult year.“Going back to last year, I’mthinking about the first term,many of the learners came backfrom the holidays to getprepared for online learning inthe second term.“A huge thank you to them,with how agile and flexible theywere moving into newt e ch n o l o g i e s ,” said Hartley.Deputy head BridgetFielding also extended hercongratulations to thematric class of 2020.“These matric results are theones that have made me theproudest in my whole teachingcareer. These are the hardestearned matric results there haveever been,” she said.“You put your heads downand just kept going. You’ve gotcoping skills that no other yearhas had before.”Are you looking for a school that builds youngmen into future leaders? At Queen’s Collegewe aim to develop the best possible version ofeach young learner.APPLICATIONS FOR GRADE 8 – 11LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLEAPPLY NOW!For applications, visit our websitewww.queenscollege.co.zaAdmissionsTel: 045-839 4188e-mail: admissions@queenscollege.co.zaVIRTUAL OPEN DAY – 27 MARCHRSVP: admissions@queenscollege.co.zaEL Museum’s doors open after long waitMATTHEW FIELDAfter months of forced closure, theEast London Museum finally openedits doors once again last week.According to museum directorGeraldine Morcom, the lockdownhit them hard.“Normally we get a lot of visitorsover Heritage Month in Septemberand into October, so we didn’t havethose. We normally get cruise ships,but we didn’t have those visitorse i t h e r,” she said.The festive season, anotherpopular time for the museum, wasalso a bust last year.While public visits may havebeen closed, the museum wasn’tentirely silent. There was much thatcontinued running behind thescenes.“What we did is that peoplewould come in and check thatmachinery and climate control werestill working, that our freezers werestill working, that our alarm systemwas still working,” Morcom said.Once restrictions had beeneased a little, the museum alsostarted to continue otherprogrammes, such as research.Morcom said the lockdown hasforced the museum to reconsider itsstrategy going forward. “We have to❝ The Friends have talksevery second month.Volunteers help with thelibrary and functionslook at more ways of using ourdigital platforms,” she said.“However, it’s very expensive.We are not the Met [MetropolitanMuseum of Art, New York City] orthe British Museum. They also havelots of staff.”Staff shortages are a continuingproblem for the museum and beforelockdown, they relied on volunteersto assist them in a number of areas.“We did have volunteers beforeCovid-19, particularly in our library,for example. We are short-staffedand we don’t have a librarian,” saidM o rc o m .“These folk would come in andassist in our library. It was a hugeload that they took on and took offour minds.”These volunteers were one of themany aspects cut due to lockdown,another being the museum’s internprogramme with local universities.“Having said that, we arepositive that we are open again,”Morcom said.She encouraged members of thepublic to get more involved byjoining the Friends of East London.“The Friends have talks everysecond month. Also when we havemuseum functions, they come anda s s i s t ,” she said.The museum is open onMondays to Fridays, from 9am until4pm.Due to Covid-19, only 50 peopleare allowed inside at any given timein order to allow museum staff toensure guests adhere to health andsafety precautions.- For more information, contactthe EL Museum at 043-743-0686.
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