2017 Paarl Media Bursary Fund winners

Back row from left to right: Dennis von Willingh, Danie Folscher, Nico Grobbelaar, Marius de Jager, Elicia van Schoor, Ian Van Zyl and Helena Wilken

Front row from left to right: 2017 Bursary recipients - Nicole Petersen, Nicole Joshua, Kayla Abrahams, Anname Geldenhuys, Adri Engelbrecht and Leighton September

In total, this year the Trust received 27 applications. Applicants are required to meet the basic conditions in order to qualify; these include an interest in studying or enrolment at University of Stellenbosch (US), University of Western Cape (UWC), Elsenburg Agricultural College and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), be financially disadvantaged with leadership attributes and community involvement, and hold a commendable academic school record.

To help improve the quality of education in schools across the country, the Trust introduced a category in 2015 for applicants interested in becoming teachers. Three of the six new bursary recipients will be pursuing degrees in education next year. The six recipients of the 2017 bursaries are Nicole Petersen, Nicole Joshua, Kayla Abrahams, Anname Geldenhuys, Adri Engelbrecht and Leighton September.

The Paarl Media Bursary Fund Trust was established by the Retief family in 2008 and has awarded 95 bursaries to date. Bursaries are paid from investment returns with independent trustees solely involved in the decision making process. Novus Holdings further supports the Trust with providing resources to facilitate and manage the administration and processing of the bursaries each year.