The Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria, Prof Chika Sehoole, Deputy Dean, Prof Max Braun, the five Heads of Department, staff from Student Administration, Teaching Practice and Marketing and Communication honoured the eight top achievers in the BEd degree of 2015 at a function held on Wednesday, 19 October 2016. These students were the best among 700 contact undergraduate education students. Also attending were the family and some friends of the students.

Tiny Maake was acknowledged as the Top Achiever in the degree BEd Further Education and Training: General. Carika Bell was honoured as Top Achiever in the Senior Phase degree; Rosemarié Behr as the Top Achiever in the degree BEd Further Education and Training; Natural Sciences, while Denisha Labuschagne received the award as Top Achiever in the Degree BEd Further Education and Training: Human Movement Studies and Sport Management. Denise Tamagone was awarded as the Top Achiever in the degree BEd Intermediate Phase and Nicolé Mc Cord as the student with the highest marks in Teaching Practice. Clarissa Dussé received the award as the Top Achiever in the degree Further Education and Training: Economic and Management Sciences.

As the winner of the Award of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Ulrike Reinstorf received a medal and a certificate at the graduation ceremony in April this year. The Faculty of Education also acknowledged her at the function for outstanding achievement as Top Achiever in the degree BEd Early Childhood Development and Foundation Phase.

Prof Sehoole saluted each of the eight students for their excellence in the four years of study. He mentioned that the University of Pretoria has recently adopted the FLY@UP campaign to support students to complete their degrees in the minimum period required. FLY stands for the 'Finish Line is Yours'.

'In this campaign we would like to encourage students to take responsibility for their own finish lines and #graduate on time. We believe in our students, as we choose the best students to study here, and we believe that we can increase the percentage of students who graduate in the minimum time allocated. I am proud to say that you as Top Achievers in the Faculty of Education have done just that. You completed your degree in the minimum period. Congratulations on that. Hopefully you will also enrol for postgraduate studies, if you have not done so yet,' Prof Sehoole said.