Mitchell’s Plains schools and pupils were among the province’s top matric achievers, who were feted as “bright shining stars” during an awards ceremony at Leeuwenhof, Premier Helen Zille’s official residence, last week. Education MEC Debbie Schäfer thanked matrics, teachers and parents alike for bumping up the Western Cape’s pass rate from 84.7 percent in 2015 to 86 percent in 2016.