Keemaya Naidoo and Avantika Kasi, two recipients of the UCT Online High School Scholarship Programme, share what it’s really like being educated online.
South Africa (31 October 2023) – The world is ever-changing and thanks to new technology, schooling is changing too. Teens are now able to enrol in online high school programmes, accessing accredited education from the comfort of home.
The UCT Online High School has had a phenomenal first year and now they are partnering with corporates to make the school available to more learners. They have launched the highly-anticipated scholarship programme for 2024.
Keemaya Naidoo in Grade 9 and Avantika Kasi in Grade 11 are both recipients of the Sanlam UCT Online High School Scholarship Programme. We got to speak to them about what it is really like switching to an online high school.
When asked what inspired them to apply for the scholarship programme, both Keemaya and Avantika explained a major factor was the financial aspect. Avantika wanted to remove the financial stress from her father’s plate after he had launched his own business; for Keemaya, it was much the same, the pandemic had left her family struggling and earning a scholarship would help ease the financial burden.
I got excited as not only were the fees affordable, but the school had so much to offer. This cemented my decision to enrol myself in the school.” – Keemaya Naidoo
Getting Scholarship the Call
Keemaya and her mom applied for the scholarship when she was in the middle of her Grade 7 final exams. She shared that her mother got the phone call with the news and they both started celebrating while the person was still on the phone; it took them a few minutes to get back to the person on the phone, who had been explaining the scholarship to them.
“I ran into my mom’s arms as we both yelled with joy. I was honestly in a state of bliss. I was simply elated that I actually got the scholarship. We heard some chatter on the phone and realised that we forgot about the person on the line. The feeling of being awarded a scholarship is beyond amazing, because it was not something that was just handed to me, I earned it and that raised my self-esteem and made my family super proud of me.” – Keemaya Naidoo
Avantika applied for the programme when she was in Grade 9. She knew a school like this would open doors for her and her future goals. When her mother got the call, they were standing in the Kalk Bay parking lot. Avantika shared that her family now lovingly joke that the parking lot has been renamed as the Scholarship Parking.

Favourites and Flexibility
Now that Avantika is in Grade 11 and has spent some time completing her education online, we asked what her favourite part of online schooling was. Avantikia answered that getting the chance to find out who she is, has been a great perk.
“At online school I’m not influenced by anyone except myself, my family, and what I engage with (books, TV, social media.) I was able to do the type of soul searching and self development that one usually does in university or after high school. I really believe that this has given me a massive head start in the years to come.” Avantika Kasi
Avantika continued to explain that it took her some time to shift from the style of schooling she has always known, to the online format but that once she got used to it, it felt incredibly rewarding.
For Keemaya, the flexibility has been a favourite. She shares that as long as she has her laptop, she can connect with her classmates, support coaches and any missed school work.
“I love telling people that my school travels with me. No matter where I go, as long as I have my laptop and UPS, I can do my schoolwork. I don’t need to carry a bag of heavy textbooks and I can travel to family functions, sports events, go on holiday. These things no longer affect my schoolwork. It is something that does deserve mentioning, which people might not realise is that our curriculum content and lessons are loaded weekly, and we also have live sessions which are recorded, with links sent to us. What this means is that our lessons are always available to us even if we missed a lesson or an entire day. We never have to worry about how or where we are going to get the missed schoolwork from. We simply just open our laptop, click the links and catch up when it convenient for us. This also makes exam revision so much easier.”

Advice for Hopeful Students
Avantika explains that this form of education is incomparable to the schooling one is usually accustomed to. In offering advice for hopeful scholarship applicants, she shares that the skills needed and used for this type of schooling, help so much more in life after school.
“It teaches you responsibility, determination, perseverance, and it builds your self-motivation and discipline. Note that these are skills that have nothing to do with your academic performance, but rather you will need them throughout your entire life.“
Keemaya shared a 3-point breakdown of all the advice for hopeful applicants. She advocates for good timekeeping and organisational skills and above all to remain disciplined but also, not to let school become a stress trigger.
“Sometimes in life, we get stressed, so make sure to have a balance, school isn’t supposed to take up all your time, it’s supposed to be a part of your life. Don’t get overly stressed about it, that will affect your studies and it’s going to affect you. Don’t let it run your life. Find ways to stay calm, find things that make you happy in life. Again, it comes down to sticking to a schedule because you will be shocked at the amount of free time you can have by sticking to a proper schedule.”
Goals and Life After School
We ended our chat with both young ladies, talking about the future. What goals, hopes and dreams may be today and how to action them for the future of their dreams.
Avantika has felt a massive shift in her personal development since joining the UCT Online High School. It has helped her fine-tune her goals and placed her on the path to the career she has always hoped for. All the opportunities have led her to feel happier about her path in life. With her final schooling year ahead of her, the future is closer than ever.
“I have been able to enrich my life with things that are important to me due to the flexibility UCT OHS allows. I have established some awesome friendships and mentorships as well as having a relationship with my family that is unlike anything I could have imagined. Quite honestly, I’ve been happier since joining UCT OHS than ever before. Although that’s largely due to personal development, I would have never been able to do so if not for UCT OHS.”
Keemaya still has a few schooling years ahead of her but she feels just as happy with the potential outcomes. Her access to more time has helped her form a greater personal connection and she has a drive to pursue all her goals, whether academic or recreational.
“I now know for certain which career path I want to follow, and the way of teaching is helping prepare me for university.Online schooling made me realise that the world is truly my oyster and as long as I’m disciplined in doing my schoolwork, I can have fun and still achieve my academic goals and qualify in my desired career path.”
These are just two of many students taking part in the scholarship programme. There is still time for hopeful applicants to submit their paperwork. The deadline for the 2024 Scholarship programme has been extended to the 17th of November 2023.
To find out more about the Scholarship Programme and how to apply, please read more here. You can also check out the virtual open day hosted earlier this month on our website here.