Western Cape's class of 2025 achieves historic 88.2% matric pass rate

The matric class of 2025 has reason to celebrate as the provincial matric pass jumped to 88.2 % which is the highest pass rate for the Western Cape since the National Senior Certificate was introduced.

The National Senior Certificate results were released on Monday, January 12, by National Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube.

The Western Cape finished in fifth with its 88.2% pass, which is an improvement from 86.6% last year.  The top three performing provinces are KwaZulu-Natal with a pass rate of 90.6%, Free State with a 89.33% pass, and Gauteng with 89.06% pass. 

In the Bulletin's area, Bergvliet High achieved a 100% pass rate after narrowly missing out last year with a 99.4%. Constantia Waldorf School, Springfield Convent School, Oakley House High School, and Wynberg Boys High School maintained its 100% pass rate from the previous year.

Schools that narrowly missed the 100% pass are Wynberg Girls' High School with 99%, Norman Henshilwood High School with 99.5%, and South Peninsula High School with 98.2%.

There were solid performances from the Cape Academy of Maths, Science and Technology, with  93.2% compared to the 79.7% from last year, while Plumstead High School remained solid with a 94.4% pass.

Wynberg Girls High School principal Dr Jennifer Wallace said the school continues to demonstrate what dedication and consistency can achieve.

“The Class of 2025’s results reflect a culture of commitment, pride in learning, and the sustained effort of both pupils and staff,” she said.

The school's top performing pupils are  Isabella Smuts, Imaan Ajam, and Mikayla Quin,n who achieved a combined 20 distinctions between the three of them. 

South Peninsula High School’s top performing pupils are Lisa Michels and Vanessa Chitera with 85,29% who finished as the top joint pupils, followed by Gadijah Ebrahim with 84. 29%.

Principal Faadiyah Myburgh said their goal was to have a 100% pass rate with 90% Bachelor’s passes, though they came close with their 98.2% pass and 88% Bachelor’s passes. 

Meanwhile, in the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, Reddam House Constantia contributed 303 distinctions at its Constantia campus, which included 70% of its pupils achieving an A or B symbol. 

Keira Winter also received an IEB Outstanding Achievement, while Emma Brodziak received an IEB Commendable Achievement, placing both students among the top performers nationally.

Alex Gitlin, Head of Reddam House Constantia, says the results speak to both academic discipline and personal growth.

"We are seeing high achievement in sciences, arts, languages, and applied subjects, which reflects a learning culture that values curiosity, resilience, and independent thinking,” he said. 

Western Cape MEC for education, David Maynier, said schools improved their bachelor’s pass rate to 49.2% compared to 47.8% last year.

“This is also the highest ever for the Western Cape, and the second highest in the country,” he said. 

Mr Maynier said the province has a top mathematics pass rate with 73.7% while in physical science, they have the second-best pass rate with 80.6%.

“Incredibly, the Class of 2025 achieved this with the highest retention rate in the country at 70.0%, which is also the top retention rate our province has had since 2021,” he said.