Congratulations to the Class of 2011, particularly those who performed well in the National Senior Certificate examinations. While many of you have succeeded in achieving the goals you set for yourself at school, you may still be unsure about what to do now. In addition, some of you may be disappointed with your results. This is not the time to give up. There are many options open to you to improve your results or to choose an alternative career path. You have completed at least twelve years of schooling that has been at considerable cost to yourselves, your parents, family and the country. You should not give up now, but should take responsibility to make use of every opportunity available to you to improve your life chances and to make your contribution to South Africa.
16 December is a day of great significant in South Africa due to two historical events that took place. The first of these was in 1838, when the Battle of Blood River took place between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus. The Voortrekkers, having moved into the interior of South Africa during the Great Trek, were eager to settle on land. The region that they intended to settle on was already inhabited by the Zulu people. Thus the Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief was eager to negotiate with the Zulu chief Dingane. Having misunderstood Retief's intentions, Dingane planned an ambush and murdered Retief and his party of 100 people.
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