Dubai College student Ayrton Loureiro plans to return to his native South Africa now that his A Levels are in the bag, but admitted that going home as an adult to a country he has not lived in for seven years would be a challenge.
“We left South Africa for safety reasons and in Dubai you’re in a little bubble that is so safe, so it can be a bit of a shock when you leave,” said the 18-year-old, who also holds a French passport.
“I will be doing things like driving and experiencing things very differently to when I was younger.
“Luckily I have family around me and childhood friends at the same university, but for some of the students going to totally new countries it can be very hard.”
But with the lower cost of living in South Africa he said life as a student would be easier.
“I will be able to do things like play golf, which I couldn’t do as a student in most places,” he said. “Even as a French national and the benefits I could have got in Montreal, Canada, this is still a better option for me.”
He will be going to study management sciences at Stellenbosch University, near Cape Town, after gaining three C grades in biology, ICT and English literature.
“Because of the conversion with South African universities I was a bit blessed with my application,” he said. “I didn’t need to do that well to get in so I was probably a lot less stressed than some of my friends.”
mswan@thenational.ae
