The Sunday News
On the Lighterside
THIS is weird, I can clearly remember my first day at primary school when I went for Grade One, but try as I might, I can’t remember my first day at high school when I went for Form One.
What is this telling me? Was my mind sharper when I was six years old and dimmer when I was 13? Lol.
I have scratched and scratched my head, trying to think of that elusive first day at high school, but every time I reach a cul-de-sac.
Or maybe the rest of my high school days became so exciting because of the nice girl called dash dash dash chatha who always sat next to me in class that they dimmed out the images of the first day.
But what I know about high school is that I will never forget when we sat down for the O-level examinations. It was a funny time, full of nerve wracking anxiety, uncertainty, and also excitement when you sat down for a paper and discovered that the questions presented were the ones you had been revising just that morning.
It’s examinations time across the country, and we know there is a collective mood among all the examination candidates of the feelings I have just described, this mood is a heavy cloud that floats over the country, which gets lighter and lighter as the examination papers become less and less, and finally dissipates with the last paper, leaving the examination candidates feeling light, as if a heavy weight has been lifted off their shoulders.
The last day of examinations, that very first minute after the last paper, is a time of sighing, for some whooping in excitement, and for others shedding one or two tears, that yes it’s finally over, and a new phase in life is about to begin.
Well, we know that there are some naughty students who celebrate the ending of examinations on intoxicants, thinking that they are now adults, but also forgetting that the examination results are not yet out, and the celebrations are premature, as the real celebration must come with knowing how one scored in the exams.
I was a very happy kid in Grade One at Saint Bernard’s Primary School in Old Pumula in the late seventies, when, in my very first exam there, I was the first to finish writing, and when schools closed, I took position one.
That time was my first introduction to examinations and passing, and you can imagine going home and proudly presenting that school report to your mother and seeing the joy in her eyes, and how she also proudly told neighbours how her son had fared in school, and then later when the beer garden closed, father also getting the news, getting congratulated and given five cents to buy sweets the following day.
I had a nice uncle then, Uncle Malinga, may his soul rest in peace, and I remember he also gave me another five cents to buy a ticket for the Friday evening bioscope of that week. At that time there was no afternoon bioscope — please don’t ask me why as I don’t know, and I can clearly remember that the film on that Friday was Fantomas, which was a silent one, meaning there was no sound for those born recently who don’t know about silent films.
Yes I grew up during the time of silent films.
And so that was my very nice award for excelling at school from my lovely parents and relatives. Of course I won’t talk about some of my friends from our line in Old Pumula. Some were not happy that I had taken position one, and they did not hide their feelings, and well, did I care? I just said fokofo you are jealous.
I did my high school at a very famous school in the townships. I think you can even guess its name before I tell you. It’s located in the only township in Bulawayo with a hill at the intersections of two highways. This township has a beer garden with the name of thieves. Kikikiki. And the high school then used to boast of very lush green lawns on its ground, although I wonder if they are still there with these water challenges in the city for the past two decades.
I won’t tell you the name of the high school, this is today’s quiz, but it starts with the letters Nj.
If you guess the name, please inbox me on Facebook and we will send you a congrats card.
We wish all those sitting for examinations success and some bit of fun with them too.
