Principal Shandre Otto said their Bachelor’s pass was the highest it had ever been at 64%. The top pupil was Chastidy Samson with three distinctions.
“Out of the 93 matriculants that passed, 80 have been provisionally accepted into universities or universities of technology in the Western Cape. Despite the uncertainty of the Fees Must Fall campaign and whether or not our children will qualify for reduced fees at tertiary institutions, each of those pupils are determined to pursue a tertiary education,” said Ms Otto.
Norman Henshilwood High School, in Plumstead, achieved a 98.6% pass rate, a slight drop from the 100% it got in 2016. Top pupil Brett Bergsma achieved a 90.5% aggregate. He said he had started the year by writing his goal – to achieve seven distinctions – on a stone, which he had then kept as a doorstop and seen daily. He will study actuarial science.
Bergvliet High School had a 99.5% pass, down from the 100% of 2016. Of the 204 matrics who sat the finals, 82% achieved Bachelor’s passes. There were 243 subject distinctions. Jenna Gilmour was the top pupil with an 89.9% aggregate and six subject distinctions.
Plumstead High School had a 94% pass rate, down from 96.3% in 2016.
Cape Academy in Constantia achieved an 88.4% pass rate. Principal Greg van Schalkwyk said Azraa Vally had achieved eight distinctions and had done advanced mathematics.
Jessica Shelver, the spokeswoman for Education MEC Debbie Schafer, congratulated the 2017 matrics.
“We are especially pleased that the Western Cape has again achieved the highest percentage of Bachelor’s passes in the country, with 39.1% of pupils achieving this quality pass,” she said.
Ms Shelver said the Western Cape achieved the highest proportion of mathematics passes, Bachelor’s passes and distinctions, as well as the highest throughput rate.
“The Free State, by contrast, had the fifth highest throughput rate in the country,” she said.
The closing date for applications to write supplementary exams or to apply for a remark is Friday January 19.
