Joburg teen beats all odds to score 10 distinctions

Five years ago, Brandon MacKenzie collapsed during a school chapel service. The budding oarsman was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and probable familial long QT syndrome - both of which predispose him to dangerous and abnormal heart rhythms.

Four operations, countless prayers and hundreds of hours of study later, the St John's College matriculant's determination to persevere has been rewarded with 10 distinctions in the Independent Examinations Board exams, whose results are due out today.

The Johannesburg teen obtained distinctions for Afrikaans, English, French, geography, life orientation, maths, physical science, advanced programme maths, Trinity College of London musical practicals and music. He wrote his matric music exam in 2015.

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He was devastated when doctors told him to stop sports and threw himself into music.

In his Grade 9 year, he underwent three operations but still managed to write all his exams. Despite doctors' orders, he resumed rowing and in grades 10 and 11, he scooped gold at the South African Schools Rowing Championships.

"The thing that he loved most was literally killing him," said his mom, Chantal, whose younger son Connor was diagnosed with the same heart disease.

"When we first found out about his condition in Grade 7 and after several cardiac arrests, we didn't dare to dream. His dad and I would take turns to see if they were breathing at night. He is an amazing child," she said.

MacKenzie is planning to study mechanical engineering at the University of Pretoria, with French as an additional subject. He hopes to do his postgraduate studies in French at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

The teen said he had been motivated by the strong support of his family and stiff competition from his peers to succeed academically.

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"They have given me hope and they are my inspiration."

St Stithians Boys' College matriculant Scott Money's results also demonstrated his will to overcome adversity.

Money was born with cerebral palsy, but that did not stop him from excelling in his final exams.

He got one distinction in his IEB finals, despite being in a wheelchair and his disease causing damage to his hands that made it difficult to type or write.

The IEB class of 2016 obtained an overall pass rate of 98.67%, up from 98.30% in 2015.

"All IEB candidates that passed achieved a pass that is good enough to enter tertiary study at one of the three levels. Of the cohort, 87.61% achieved entry to degree study, 9.83% qualified for entry to diploma study and 1.23% achieved entry for study at the higher certificate level," the organisation said. In total, 10871 pupils passed exams and 151 failed.