The recipe to achieve great academic success includes five ingredients: Dedication, dedication, dedication, discipline and dedication.

This is how Charl du Plessis, the 2016 recipient of the CGW Schumann medal for the best postgraduate student in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences explains his outstanding results. "Nothing can replace hard work," he adds.

Prof Stan du Plessis, Dean of the Faculty, presented the medal to him at a function held in Stellenbosch on Wednesday, 17 August. The medal is named after the Faculty's first dean and has been awarded annually since 1986.

Du Plessis' academic performance in his four years of study at Stellenbosch University, where he completed an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in Actuarial Science, was truly exceptional.

Prof Garrett Slattery, head of Actuarial Science, wrote in his motivation that while it is not uncommon for exceptional students to score over 90% for some modules, Du Plessis scored over 90% for virtually every module in his Bachelor's degree (including his additional modules), with several module marks of 100%.

"Not only were his marks magnificent in these very demanding degrees, but he also managed to fit in several additional subjects, demonstrating a thirst for knowledge rather than a desire to simply keep his marks high by taking the lightest permissible load."

Du Plessis registered for an additional (40-credit) Master's level module (during his honours degree) – General Insurance Fellowship Principles, which covers the application of actuarial principles to short-term insurance. The final examination of the Actuarial Society of South Africa in this subject was written by over 50 students and he scored the top examination mark.

"He will be recommended for all of the available exemptions from the examinations of the Actuarial Society of South Africa based on performance in equivalent university modules taken in his Bachelors and Honours degrees," added Prof Slattery.

"While we always have very good students in our honours degree the difficulty of the work means that we do not generally award high marks. In the past 10 years we have only had two other students who performed at a level comparable to that of Mr du Plessis, both of whom were recipients of the Chancellor's Medal."

It has always been Du Plessis' goal to do well and he is very happy about this award.

He values the problem-solving and critical-thinking skills he developed during his studies and believes a culture of self-learning and continuous hard work are important for success.

Du Plessis, who matriculated from Stellenberg High School and achieved second place in the Western Cape for the National Senior Certificate examinations in 2011, is continuing his process of learning at Ernst & Young in Cape Town.

"I'm enjoying it and I'm gaining valuable experience about and exposure to the financial industry."

When he is not working, he enjoys reading, hiking, spending time with family and friends and visiting spots in and around Cape Town.

Photo: Prof Willie Conradie, chairperson of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Prof Garrett Slattery, head of Actuarial Science, medal winner Charl du Plessis, and Prof Stan du Plessis, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Photographer: Hennie Rudman, SCPS.