DIYA Ambaram has always come first in her grade and she has done it once again.
She attained 8 distinctions in the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) examinations with an overall average of 95.38%.
The 18-year-old, of uMhlanga, had As in English home language, Afrikaans first additional language, accounting, life orientation, life sciences, mathematics, physical sciences and further studies physics. She also placed in the top 1% in a subject nationally in the IEB examinations for 7 of these subjects - besides further studies physics.
"Initially, I was concerned that I would not get 8As. In May and October last year, we had two sessions to write exams for further studies physics, which is my optional eighth subject. I missed out on a distinction by about 5% in May. When I wrote again in October, I secured a distinction and this held me in good stead going into the final examination.
"I have always come first in my grade but this has often stressed me out. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to do well despite my parents often telling me to just do my best. Now, all I can say is that I am really happy with my results."
Diya will now follow in her parents footsteps and study medicine.
"My parents are both doctors, and the work that they do to help others inspired me from a young age to follow in their footsteps. They are my greatest role-models, and through them, I gained an interest in medicine."
On Tuesday she was informed that she had been accepted to study medicine at the University of Cape Town.
"I feel so overwhelmed. I wanted to study at UCT because it is a prestigious university."
She said she would not feel lonely being away from her family, as some of her cousins are studying at the university.
Asked if she would be doing her own cooking and cleaning, she laughed: "I am not so sure about the cleaning but I can cook."
Her advice to this year's matric pupils is to start studying early.
"Consistency will take you far and have balance in your routine. I used to meet with my friends, go to the gym and do something to relax. I realised that the more I did things like this for myself, the more motivated I was to study because I already made time for fun. It's easy to lose motivation when you study every day."
She said she was grateful to her parents and her teachers.
"They are the backbone of everything. They have been amazing. There is not a single teacher I would want to replace with another. They were caring and went the extra mile for us."