In February, Union High School commenced with the renovation of the upstairs bathrooms as well as the guest bathroom at the school’s senior girls hostel, the Herby Arnott House.
The bathrooms, which were then gutted and completely redone by Colin Warner Plumbing, has recently been completed and the girls, as well as guests visiting the hostel, are now able to enjoy the new modern face-lifted facilities.
Graaff-Reinet local Gerrit Brink, the son of Sanette and André Brink, was recently invited to become a member of the Stellenbosch University’s Chapter of the esteemed Golden Key International Honour Society.
Gerrit, now a second-year student at SU, matriculated at Union High School in 2017, third in his class, boasting an A-aggregate and six distinctions. By also excelling in his studies towards a BEng degree in Mechatronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University, Gerrit has now earned himself a lifetime seat at the Golden Key Society table.
The award is in recognition of Gerrit’s academic excellence and leadership while studying towards his degree.
Golden Key membership is the highest university accolade awarded only to students in the top 15% per field of study in any undergraduate and post-graduate degree programme, and it’s strictly by invitation only, so yes, a lifetime membership is no trivial feat.
Gerrit will be presented with his award in October of this year.
• More about Gerrit’s field of study:
Mechatronic engineering is a new focus area in engineering that promises to become even more important in the future, both in South Africa as well as internationally. With automation as the current key to productivity, the need for mechatronics (which makes it possible to generate simpler, more economical, reliable and versatile systems) increases by the day.
Mechatronic engineering is a synergistic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronics and computer systems. A typical mechatronic system is characterised by close integration of the mechanical components, electronic sensors, mechanical and electrical actuators and computer controllers.
Mechatronic engineering is an interdisciplinary engineering field that specialises in the control of advanced hybrid systems. These systems are found in numerous industry sectors where mechanical and electronic engineering are interfaced with computer systems, such as aerospace, automotive, chemical processing, computers, communications, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing and mining.