Cape Town - A Cannons Creek Independent School Grade 12 learner, who excelled in spite of severe dyslexia, hopes students battling with dyslexia receive the necessary support and don’t fall through the cracks.
Kian Frassek, 18, from Plumstead received six distinctions for maths (91%), physical sciences (87%), geography (89%), life sciences (83%), IT (95%) and life orientation (91%), all attributed to his grit and determination.
He has applied to UCT for both mechatronics and physiotherapy and was accepted for both.
“I am very grateful to all the people who have helped, acknowledged and supported me. It's absolutely great to get these absolutely delightful marks but I did work for them, and it's been great just seeing all the work come through. It was a very long year, lots of difficulties with Covid-19, the year was unexpected, but just lots of hard work helped me get through it all.”
Frassek’s mother, Tania, said: “We are getting an amazing amount of acknowledgement from far afield. This is an overwhelming and incredible feeling for us. We hope that other learners with similar difficulties receive hope and inspiration from his story.”
His father, Andre, agreed. “I feel it is so important that people with dyslexia are given maximum support at the early stage of learning because I think that many very intelligent children with dyslexia may give up at that point if they are not correctly supported.”
Midway through Grade 1, an educator informed his parents of academic concerns, and after tests were conducted, Frassek was confirmed with dyslexia.
Andre said: “We are basking in pride and we are in awe of the effort it took. It is difficult to describe how much harder he had to work just to get to matric, never mind achieving the results he has. We also feel an immense sense of gratitude to his schools and teachers that have supported him on his way.”
Frassek’s dyslexia was picked up when he wrote his entrance test for admission to Cannons Creek in 2015. He had struggled for hours and later explained to staff he struggled to read and write due to dyslexia.
Principal Mike Van Haght said: “From the moment Kian started as a Grade 8 pupil at Cannons, he showed a level of determination seldom seen. While we were able to provide him with a scribe in exam situations, he had to take responsibility for everything else - classwork, homework, studying, tests and projects.
“When others worked hard, Kian had to work twice as hard. Nothing was easy for him. Nonetheless, he persevered and while there were definitely times when he felt demoralised, he never gave up.”
Cape Argus