Durban – Fifteen-year-old Kialan Pillay is not only one of the youngest matriculants in KwaZulu-Natal but he passed with flying colours, obtaining distinctions in all his subjects.
Age is nothing but a number for Westville resident Kialan Pillay who has aced his matric with seven distinctions, despite being only 15 years old.
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Kialan, started high school when he was 10, achieved distinctions for all seven subjects that he took.
He was home-schooled as a young child and described his early education as “non-structured and holistic” – it even included trips to Egypt, Greece and Italy with his mother to fuel his passion for Egyptology and archaeology.
He started Grade 1 at Kainon Primary in Westville. “It was fun because I got to socialise with other children but I was bored, intellectually,” he said.
A decision was taken to place Kialan in a higher grade and, at the age of eight, he started Grade 5.
“Initially, it was a bit of an adjustment,” he said, “But I made good friends and we are still good friends, to this day.”
Kialan did his high school years at Eden College, where he says he had to overcome some challenges associated with being younger than his classmates.
