UFS & Media24: Matriculant of the Year Bursary Competition South Africa 2025
ABOUT THE BURSARY PROVIDER – UFS & MEDIA24
The University of the Free State (UFS) was founded in 1904 as “Grey College School” with only 6 students, in 1950 it changed its name to the “University of the Orange Free State” and finally it named to the “University of the Free State” in 2001. Today UFS is a well-known institution with ever-expanding facilities and the following Faculties: Business School; Economic and Management Sciences; Law; The Humanities; Education; Health Sciences; Natural and Agricultural Sciences; Theology and Religion and Open Distance Learning.
Media24 is the print media division of the media company Naspers in South Africa, whose interests lie in digital media and services, ecommerce, magazines, newspapers, book publishing, print and distribution.
ABOUT THE BURSARY COMPETITION
The University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with Media24, is inviting students to apply for the Matriculant of the Year competition, for the 2025 academic year.
Students who are currently in their Matric year, who excel in academics, sport, culture or leadership, and would like to study at the University of the Free State in 2025 should apply.
The prestigious competition has been around for over 40 years and allows top-achieving Matriculants a chance to win bursaries, prizes and other fantastic opportunities.
MORE ABOUT THE BURSARY COMPETITION – SELECTION PROCESS
The selection process will include the following steps:
1) The judges will select 25 semi-finalists who will then be assessed on a points scale, based on the application form information.
2) The judges will select 14 finalists who will be interviewed by a panel of judges, in the month of September 2024.
3) The finalist will then be selected based on the best personal achievement and most spirited personality – the Matriculant of the Year will be announced at a prestigious gala dinner.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BURSARY COMPETITION
Applicants must satisfy the following minimum entry criteria before applying (please note that failure to satisfy all the requirements will lead to your application not being considered):
- You must be currently in Matric in 2024
- You must be a top-achieving student
- You must intend on studying full-time at the University of the Free State in 2025
- You must have received excellent results/ shown great potential in one of these sectors: academics/ sports/ culture/ leadership
- You may be attending a Quintiles 1 to 5 school (Quintile 1 represents the poorest schools and Quintile 5 represents the least poor schools in South Africa), private school or be home-schooled
- You must read and agree to the terms and conditions (on the application form below)
HOW TO APPLY FOR THE BURSARY COMPETITION
Download and complete the Matriculant of the Year Bursary Competition Entry Form 2025 (.pdf)
Applicants may be required to submit clear copies of the following supporting documentation along with their application, so ensure you have them readily available when applying:
- Photograph of the applicants face in school uniform (post card size)
- Grade 11 final results (certified copy)
- Matric March and June results (certified copy)
Note: the application form must be signed by your school principal and must have the school stamp.
Applications must be submitted in either of the following ways:
– Email: greylinl@ufs.ac.za
(Insert the words “Matriculant of the Year Competition” in the email subject line).
– Hand delivery:
UFS Student Recruitment, Wekkie Saayman
Building, c/o Rector and Granduandi Avenue, UFS Campus,
Bloemfontein
(Attention: Linda Greyling)
CLOSING DATE FOR THE BURSARY COMPETITION
2 August 2024.
(Applications submitted after this date will not be accepted – please apply before the closing date to ensure your application is considered.)
CONTACT THE BURSARY COMPETITION PROVIDER
For any queries related to this bursary programme, please contact the UFS directly:
Contact person: Linda Greyling
Email: greylinl@ufs.ac.za
Tel: 051 401 3384
Please do NOT contact the University of the Free State (UFS) if this bursary has already closed.