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The road to Mpumelelo Secondary's success is paved with grit, dreams and determination

The road to Mpumelelo Secondary's success is paved with grit, dreams and determination
Matric pupils Mpilo Mbonane and Nomasonto Mahlangu. (Photo: Neesa Moodley)
Neesa Moodley
By Neesa Moodley
21 Aug 2024
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The JSE Investment Challenge has been running for 51 years, drawing young minds from all over the country and empowering them to learn more about trading on the stock exchange.

Over the past four years, Daily Maverick has been religiously covering the competition each month. 

While a few schools have emerged as regular winners, one school, in particular, caught our eye. Learners from Mpumelelo Secondary School have been listed as monthly and even annual winners of the JSE Investment Challenge. While most learners are shy during press interviews, the learners from Mpumelelo were positively tongue-tied when we first started interviewing them a few years ago. 

Not only has their confidence grown since then, but the matric pass rate last year was 95% with 38 distinctions. The school has entered 40 learners or 10 teams in the JSE Investment Challenge this year. Daily Maverick took a field trip to find out what their secret sauce is.

What we found was a quintile three school nestled in the dusty hills of rural Mpumalanga in the village of Bhundu. The nearest town is Groblersdal, which is just over 40km away – but the drive takes just more than an hour because the roads are narrow, littered with potholes and the last few kilometres are little more than a dirt path, rather than a road. Children line up at break time to receive a cooked meal, which was rice, soya mince and pumpkin on one of the days that Daily Maverick visited. For many this is their only meal of the day.

Children line up at the school kitchen for their cooked lunch on 12 August 2024. (Photo: Neesa Moodley)



The quintile three ranking means the school is a no-fee school, and all stationery and textbooks are supplied by the government. The poorest schools are classified quintile one, while the least poor schools are classified quintile five, which places Mpumelelo Secondary School smack in the middle.

About 525 pupils from grades 8 to 12 are housed in 10 classes, and taught by 19 teachers. Principal Moses Mahlangu attributes the 95% pass rate last year to dedication and commitment on the part of both the pupils and the teachers. 

“Discipline has been core to our success. However, the school governing board, the teachers and the pupils have all recognised the importance of commitment,” he says. And that commitment shows through. As I sat interviewing Mahlangu in a classroom at 3pm, the other classes were full of pupils staying after school for extra lessons offered by the teachers, often till 5pm and then again on Saturdays from 8am till 1.30pm. Grade 12 learners stay till 2pm on Saturdays.

Past pupils pitching in to help


“The generation we are teaching now is not very focused on books. We find that when they have a holiday break of three weeks or more, it takes time for them to get back into study mode when they get back,” Mahlangu said. Past pupils of the school help out where they can, sending once-off donations and offering mentoring when possible. One past pupil organised a once-off donation of 500 sanitary pads, which are a desperate need for schoolgirls all over the country.

“We find it is a problem. A number of the pupils are too embarrassed or shy to admit they have no access to sanitary products, so they simply stay absent during that time of the month. The once-off donation was very much appreciated, but the need is ongoing,” he said.

Teacher Sizwe “Nick” Mtsweni teaches maths literacy, tourism and isiNdebele to Grade 9 pupils and is himself a past pupil of the school. 

“When I went to study teaching, I knew I wanted to come back here to work at this school and help my community,” he says. Mtsweni has been a key driver of participation in the JSE Investment Challenge, staying after school to do research with the pupils using a single laptop, and his own cellphone for data. Although there is a small TV screen in the classroom that he tries to connect to, the connection is not good and often doesn’t work.

“The JSE Challenge is empowering because it teaches the children about teamwork, research and what to expect when they are out in the world. The only way they are going to move forward is by improving their financial literacy, and we are 100% motivated,” he said.

Out of the mouths of babes


Emmanuel Mtsweni, a Grade 11 pupil, says the investing and saving lessons have been valuable, but he has also learned the value of good communication. 

“I definitely did not expect so much research,” he says with a grin.

Grade 9 pupil Charmaine Sibanyoni says she is goal-driven and determined to be successful. “To be something, you have to work hard and reach success on your own merit. The JSE Investment Challenge has been inspiring. Our team is like a group of brothers and sisters who are working together to put our school and our village on top. We want to show the world that being born in poverty is just a situation, and not an excuse for failure. Education is our way up and out,” she said.

Matric pupils Mpilo Mbonane and Nomasonto Mahlangu. (Photo: Neesa Moodley)



Matric pupils Nomasonto Mahlangu and Mpilo Mbonane are participating in the challenge for the third and final year. 

“It is such a struggle to keep up with all the information when we have no real access to devices,” Mahlangu says. Although the Mpumalanga Department of Education has supplied the school with tablets for the Grade 12s, the devices are slow, have to remain on charge constantly and the data allocation of 1GB a month is not enough to keep up with their work, and also to do the research for their trading exercise.

Mbonane says some of the JSE research has helped her with her tourism classes, and both plan to remain committed to the challenge during their matric trial exam period. 

“We don’t live too far away but some of the children walk half an hour to an hour to get to school. They have to leave at 4pm to get home at a decent hour, especially in winter when it gets dark earlier,” she says. Both Mahlangu and Mbonane live in homes with nine family members and only one breadwinner. Mbonane’s uncle works as a plumber and her two grandparents receive the state old age grants. Her aunt, who also lives with them, receives a disability grant. 

“I’ve applied to study actuarial science next year at University of Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela University and University of Cape Town. We applied everywhere we could think of and are just hoping for the best,” she says. Mahlangu has applied to study pharmacy and analytical chemistry at University of the Free State, University of the Western Cape, University of Johannesburg, and Nelson Mandela University.

The July winners of the JSE Investment Challenge were:

  • The Saheti Mogs of Saheti school in Gauteng won the income category, with an income of R4,962.17.

  • RDAC Out of Stock from Paarl Girls in the Western Cape won the equity category for the second month running with 2.82% growth.

  • Titans from Kingswood College in the Eastern Cape took the speculator portfolio with 4.46% growth.

  • Black like Jesus from Tshikota Secondary School in Limpopo were in top position in the ETF/ETN category with growth of 0.63%.

  • Onderstepoort Capital from the University of Pretoria won the university speculator category with growth of 4.39%.

  • VK15 – The Visionaries from the University of Johannesburg was the winner of the university ETF/ETN category with growth of 0.55%. DM

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