Matric results: Meet SA's top performer
Western Cape pupil, Andrew Tucker achieved the top results across the country.
The top achiever had missed almost six months of the school year after being diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disorder - Guillain-Barré syndrome in early 2015.
Tucker, who completed Grade 12 at South African College Schools, was amongst 21 learners who were honoured by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.
He plans on studying medicine at the University of Cape Town this year.
Watch the interview, by News24, below.
Meanwhile, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the 2015 matric exam national pass rate has dropped from 75.8% to 70.7%.