Five Northern Cape youngsters who performed well in last year’s matric final exams, have been awarded a bursary from the Square Kilometre Array South Africa (SKA SA).

Anver Adams (18), Janethon de Klerk (18), Kyle Henderson (18), Cedwill Abdol (17) and Bradley Bosman (17), all learners from Carnarvon High School, obtained exemptions in their results and will be awarded a bursary for a science-related course at various local universities from SKA SA’s Human Capital Development Programme.

“What you put in is what you will gain, and I want to work much harder because I do not want to disappoint my sponsors and support team,” de Klerk said in a statement, who was also Carnavon High’s head girl last year.

“My results could have been much better, but I have confidence that I am capable of so much more,” de Klerk added. She will be pursuing a BSc degree at the University of the Free State.

The SKA SA Human Capital Development Programme was established in 2005 and has assisted more than 730 learners to study in science and engineering related fields at tertiary institutions.

“Our goal is to ensure sustainability for the SKA and that site engineers be drawn from the local community and in turn provide a way for local young people to achieve their dreams of greatness through science. It is the first time that learners from the school with support from SKA SA have obtained matric results with exemptions to further their studies in science related fields,” said Dr Rob Adam, project director of SKA SA.