Top KwaZulu-Natal matric pupil Joanna Laura Smith was beaming from ear to ear after bagging eight distinctions.
The 18-year-old from Danville Secondary School in Durban North was the toast of the town for her outstanding performance‚ which saw her take the number one spot in the province.
She was in "total shock but ecstatic as I didn't expect this".
She told TimesLIVE that her achievement was a result of consistent hard work.
"I couldn't be more happy. It plainly comes down to hard work from the beginning of the year until the end."
She obtained her eight distinctions for maths‚ physical science‚ life orientation‚ Afrikaans‚ drama‚ applied maths‚ English and life sciences.
Joanna was on holiday at St Francis Bay when she got a call from her mother‚ Sharon‚ saying that she had to fly to Johannesburg for the senior national certificate awards ceremony hosted by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Thursday evening.
"I said‚ ‘What? When did this happen?’ I was very shocked but also very excited‚" she said.
Joanna will study actuarial science at Stellenbosch University.
Her ecstatic mother said: "I am so tremendously proud of her. She worked very hard. She is been very calm and very humble about everything."
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