{"id":889313,"date":"2026-02-01T01:19:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/01\/2025-national-senior-certificate-results-a-historic-achievement-for-south-african-students\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T01:19:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:19:31","slug":"2025-national-senior-certificate-results-a-historic-achievement-for-south-african-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/01\/2025-national-senior-certificate-results-a-historic-achievement-for-south-african-students\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 National Senior Certificate results: a historic achievement for South African students"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Tracy-Lynn Ruiters|<\/span>Published

\n
\n

There were sighs of relief, tears of joy and celebratory embraces at schools across the country on Tuesday as matriculants finally received their 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.<\/span><\/p>\n

After months of uncertainty and anticipation, the Class of 2025 can take pride in an overall national pass rate of 88%, the highest matric pass rate in South Africa\u2019s history, representing a 0.7% increase from 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In total, 88.2% of candidates passed, while a record-breaking 345,000 learners achieved bachelor\u2019s passes, the highest number ever recorded.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Western Cape placed fifth nationally with a pass rate of 88.2%, in a year that also marked a major milestone for the first time, all nine provinces achieved pass rates above 80%.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

KwaZulu-Natal topped the provincial rankings with 90.6%, followed by the Free State (89.33%), Gauteng (89.06%), North West (88.49%) and the Western Cape (88.2%). <\/span><\/p>\n

The Northern Cape recorded the largest improvement, achieving 87.79%, while Mpumalanga (86.5%), Limpopo (86.15%) and the Eastern Cape (84.17%) also posted strong performances.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Independent school candidates also excelled, with the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) recording an overall pass rate of 98.31%.<\/span><\/p>\n

At schools across the Western Cape, many learners arrived on Tuesday already knowing their fate, having checked their results online in the early hours of the morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rocklands High matriculant Nicole Hess said accessing results online ahead of time helped take the edge off results day. \u201cIt lessens the stress and anxiety that comes with having to wait,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Emotions were especially raw for <\/span>Tiffany Douw\u2019s mother<\/b>, who could not contain her tears when she learned her daughter had passed with a <\/span>bachelor\u2019s pass<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiffany\u2019s matric journey was marked by extraordinary resilience. She fell pregnant near the end of her <\/span>Grade 11 year<\/b> and, while completing her final examinations, gave birth to her son, <\/span>Malakai Douw<\/b>, in <\/span>July<\/b>, during the matric exam period.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the challenges, Tiffany persevered supported by her family and the baby\u2019s father, <\/span>Tyler Wagner<\/b>, who also passed matric with flying colours. The young couple said their shared goal is to build <\/span>career-driven futures<\/b> as they work towards providing the best possible life for their son.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

For Xavier Cornelius, matric marks another milestone on an already ambitious journey. Competing at provincial level in mixed martial arts (MMA), Xavier now hopes to qualify for national competitions, with his sights ultimately set on the World Championships.<\/span><\/p>\n

At Westridge High School, emotions ran high as learners collected their statements of results in person, hugging friends and teachers after months of hard work.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Among them was Aisha Cornelius, who helped the school achieve a 90.3% pass, a significant improvement from a 78.5% pass rate the previous year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is for mommy and daddy. I always want to make my parents proud,\u201d Aisha said. \u201cI would sit and study until the last minute. It was for myself, but mainly for them. They were my support and my strength.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

A teacher walking past congratulated the class, commenting on how proud she was of learners who had gone \u201cover and above\u201d to make both themselves and their teachers proud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aisha said she is still weighing her future options. \u201cThere are so many choices. It\u2019s something I\u2019ll have to pray about,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Best friends, Amy Lee De Vos and Ashlin Fisher, both plan to study at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The pair said they checked their results online before heading to school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be heartbreaking if we have to leave each other\u2019s side, but that\u2019s a hurdle for another day,\u201d they said. \u201cToday we say thank you, Lord, for helping us pass.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Important dates:<\/span><\/p>\n

Remarking and re-checking applications: 13\u201327 January 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Fees: R120 for a remark, R30 for a re-check<\/span><\/p>\n

May\/June 2026 exams: Registration closes 6 February 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Remark results: Expected from 4 March 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

[email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Weekend Argus\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Stephania Lupo
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tracy-Lynn Ruiters| Published 2 weeks ago There were sighs of relief, tears of joy and celebratory embraces at schools across the country on Tuesday as matriculants finally received their 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results. After months of uncertainty and anticipation, the Class of 2025 can take pride in an overall national pass rate of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":889314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3574,3569],"tags":[5384,5792],"class_list":{"0":"post-889313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"category-senior","9":"tag-national","10":"tag-senior"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}