Fifteen matriculants of the Class of 2021 were the beneficiaries of bursaries from the Cebisani Investments Youth Development Trust, which was established by the Boston Consulting Group. The trustees are ex-student Prof. Shirley (Jeftha) Zinn and Ms Sharmla Chetty.
Monday 28 February saw the official launch of the Trust, in the form of a certificate handing-over ceremony held at South Peninsula High School. This was the culmination of months of planning, which, as far as SP was concerned, started with a phone call from Prof. Zinn informing us of her wish to provide bursaries for ten students, which would cover their full tuition and books for the first year of their tertiary studies and, as long as they pass, for the duration of their entire undergraduate courses. (Naturally, the planning on the part of the Trust had started well before this.) As trustees of Cebisani Investments, Prof. Zinn and Ms Chetty had been given carte blanche by BCG to utilise funds for a social project. Both decided to assist worthy students from the schools which they had attended. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this was that Prof. Zinn indicated that bursaries would be awarded to three students each from the 80%, &0% and 60% groups, and one from the 50% group. This was because of the belief that hard and consistent work should be rewarded.
In November, sixteen students were invited to interviews, chaired by Ms Thuli Mpshe, who co-ordinated the entire process on behalf of the Trust. Also present were Prof. Zinn, as well as representatives of the school and the Governing Body. The candidates were chosen by the school on the basis of the criteria determined by the Trust, as well as financial need and the students’ contribution to the school over the years. After the completion of the process, the trustees informed the school that all the interviewees had been so impressive, and the scores had been so close that they had changed their minds about narrowing the number down, and would offer the bursary to all sixteen. Naturally, their final matric results would determine their acceptances by the tertiary institutions of their choice.
