Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Six years into the Star of Stars competition and it’s only getting brighter

29 March 2022 | Story Teli Mothabeng | Photo Supplied

Philmon Bitso, Student Recruitment Officer, with the top-10 cohort of the class of 2021 Free State Star of Stars.

The Department of Student Recruitment Services at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted its annual Free State Star of Stars competition at the Amanzi Private Game Reserve during the first week of March. The event saw some of the brightest young minds in the Free State inducted as UFS first-year students into this year’s top-10 cohort for the competition. This marks the first Star of Stars event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This new cohort consists of a dynamic group of academically gifted students from Quintile 1-3 schools in the Free State who are currently enrolled for different UFS academic programmes, ranging from Medicine, Law, Education, and various Bachelor of Science courses. Many of these students had to overcome insurmountable challenges to perform as well as they did in their Grade 12 academic year and to become part of the top-10 cohort for the class of 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Student Recruitment Services was forced to take a different approach to celebrate these deserving students; consequently, a weekend-long induction camp was the substitute for the annual gala dinner.

Apply for the 2022 Free State Star of Stars competition

The UFS realised the need to establish a platform that recognises and celebrates the diverse and, in most instances, difficult circumstances that disadvantaged schools (Quintile 1-3) are facing. Consequently, the Star of Stars competition was developed and established in 2016. This competition provides disadvantaged Grade 12 learners from all districts in the Free State an opportunity to showcase their excellence, while motivating them to aspire to achieve more.

Star of Stars Flyer 2022 aplicayion for the 2022 Free State Star of Stars competition open on 1 April 2022.

News Archive

Kovsie wins luxury apartment in Paarl-Franschhoek Valley

2016-11-09

Description: Win A Home Tags: Win A Home

Palesa Moisi, winner of the Win A Home
competition on the Afternoon Express
Show on SABC 3.
Photo: Win A Home

The saying “Dreams do come true” is a perfect explanation for 25-year-old Palesa Moisi who was announced winner of the Win A Home competition.

Palesa, who is currently completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the University of the Free State, is the proud owner of a beautiful apartment worth almost R3 million. The day after the announcement, she was escorted to the Val de Vie Estate to pick her dream apartment from three beautiful designer apartments.

Proud owner of apartment at Val de Vie

With Win A Home Season 3 on SABC 3’s Afternoon Express, viewers not only stood a chance to win bi-weekly prizes, but Palesa walked away with a two-bedroomed furnished apartment in the Polo Village at the prestigious Val de Vie Estate in the Paarl-Franschhoek Valley near Cape Town. The draw took place on 26 August 2016 at the Afternoon Express Studios.

Time stood still for a moment

Palesa says when she stepped towards the safe, which each contestant was assigned to, and opened it, everything just stood still. A key to the apartment was inside one of the safes. “My mind was somewhere else and when I saw the key I realised: ‘Hey I need to take it out and show it to everyone’.”

Financial constraints are a big issue for her family. Her mother is a single parent and Palesa has a younger sister who needs to be cared for. “I’m still a student and I think that if I rent out the house for now, I will be able to pay for my fees and take some pressure off of my mother,” she says.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept