Bokang Mokubung (17), a learner of the Bluegumbosch Secondary School in Phuthaditjhaba – Qwaqwa in the eastern Free State – has emerged as the shining star of the 2025 Free State matric cohort. He attained the first position among the top three learners in quintile 3 schools for mathematics in the country.
Mokubung’s success is due to hard work and dedication. The bright learner’s father died while he was still in his mother’s womb. However, his family ensured that he remained grounded and focused on education, and he duly rewarded them with impressive results. Mokubung’s Mathematics teacher, Ernest Thabo Moroane, said the learner’s achievement hardly came as a surprise.
Moroane’s guidance clearly had an impact on Mokubung, who shared his knowledge with his classmates. During the 2025 school year, Mokubung would leave his home early to make it to school before teaching commenced to assist his classmates, and they would do the same in the afternoon.
“I have a passion for teaching and assisting those in need, and that is why it was important for me to help my struggling classmates. I am happy that my efforts were not in vain because, looking at the social media posts of most of my classmates, they did well in Mathematics. It was all worth it and I am proud,” said Mokubung.
He intends to study Actuarial Sciences at the University of Pretoria (UP) this year.
“He is a selfless young man who is willing to assist his fellow learners. He would arrive early at the school and leave late in the afternoon to ensure that other learners did not struggle. I am not surprised by his achievement because he worked hard for it and it is well deserved,” said Moroane.
Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae has expressed joy and pride over Mokubung’s achievement, attributing this to the sacrifices that he made.
“The Free State Government congratulates Bokang for his wonderful achievement. Through hard work, Bokang has put our province on the map. We take this moment to say well done to him and wish him all the best for the future,” said Letsoha-Mathae.
Jaco Deysel of the Hoërskool Jim Fouché in Bloemfontein achieved nine distinctions.
He is one of two Gr.12 learners from the Free State who are among the six recipients of a prestigious bursary of R5 million awarded by Eskom. This followed his presentation of his project at the 2025 Eskom Expo International Science Fair national final held in October last year.
Jaco was awarded a full bursary for his project “The Impact of a Look-up Table Design on AES Encryption Speed and RAM Demand.”
His research responds to the growing need for strong and robust encryption systems. Currently, the strongest military-grade data protection method available, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), demands high processing power, making it inaccessible to most start-up businesses. Jaco designed and developed a computer programme to encrypt and decrypt five differently sized text files using AES, resulting in enhanced performance and broader accessibility to AES in resource-constrained environments such as small businesses.
