Rocky shores and sandy beaches, marine life, kelp forests and underwater ecosystems - these were the uncharted waters 12 pupils in the Western Cape ventured into three years ago when they took on marine sciences as a subject in grade 10.
Now, the group will be the first matrics in Africa to write a grade 12 exam in the subject.
They are Ashleigh Mingo, 17, and five classmates from Wynberg Girls' High, four pupils from South Peninsula High in Plumstead and a pupil each from Norman Henshilwood High and the Cape Academy of Maths, Science & Technology in Constantia.
The subject was not taught during normal class time but after school on two afternoons a week.
Preparing for the final exams has also been different because there are no question papers from previous years. Despite the challenges, Mingo said the course had been fascinating. "From a young age I have always been attracted to the ocean.
LISTEN | SA's first marine sciences matric class faces their final exam
My father, Chris, was a deep-sea diver and he used to dive for crayfish and abalone at Rooi-Els near Pringle Bay in the '90s." Mingo has been provisionally accepted to study actuarial science at the University of Cape Town next year, and she wants to put her knowledge of marine sciences to use by volunteering at the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront.
"We were fortunate to go to the aquarium to see a lot of the animals and plants we were learning about and we were able to apply our knowledge," she said.
Practical lessons were limited by the Covid-19 pandemic, but Mingo said the group's teacher, Matthew Schroeder, often challenged them when he was on the beach by sending them photographs of coastal formations and quizzing them.
Mingo's classmate Boitumelo Medupe, 17, said she was inspired to study marine sciences by her father, Arnold, a former crew member on a navy vessel who is now a warrant officer in the South African Police Service sea border unit that targets poachers of abalone and west coast rock lobster.
I often reached home after 8pm on Mondays and Wednesdays but it was worth the effort."
— Boitumelo Medupe
She has applied to study oceanography at the University of Cape Town and marine sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
"Marine sciences taught me about animals that I never thought existed and it also gave me a new perspective on how I viewed the planet," said Medupe, formerly from Khayelitsha.
"I often reached home after 8pm on Mondays and Wednesdays but it was worth the effort."
Russell Stevens, head of education at the Two Oceans Aquarium, and his deputy, Xavier Zylstra, were the co-authors and designers of the curriculum for grades 10-12.
Gazetted in July 2019 for public comment, the curriculum was quality assured by Umalusi and features the logo of the Two Oceans Aquarium. Stevens said they had colleagues from Bangladesh, Egypt, Tunisia, Taiwan, Japan and Australia comment on the curriculum.
"There's a comparable subject offered in Queensland and New South Wales but the rigour, depth and extent of the curriculum is nowhere near the level of the South African curriculum," he said.
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