Schools across South Africa have been abuzz as the Class of 2023 clamoured at the gates, and in the hallways they once roamed, anxiously awaiting to receive their results. Having achieved a record-high pass rate of 82.9%, despite facing challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic when they started Grade 9 and unprecedented rolling blackouts throughout their matric year, the Class of 2023 is being celebrated nationwide.

Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga announced the 2023 matric results on Thursday night, indicating that:

• Free State leads with 89%; 
• KwaZulu-Natal with 86.4%;
• Gauteng with 85.4%;
• North West with 81.6%; 
• Western Cape with 81.5%; 
• Eastern Cape with 814%;
• Limpopo with 79.5%;
• Mpumalanga with 77%; and
• Northern Cape with 75.8%.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Matric class of 2023 beats the odds with record 82.9% pass rate — Angie Motshekga

Daily Maverick visited a number of schools in parts of the country to get a first-hand account of anxiety-ridden matriculants as they received their highly anticipated results. 

Read More in Daily Maverick: Experts welcome matric pass rate increase but note 450,000 learners dropped out

Schools in Western Cape

Western Cape education MEC David Maynier joined teachers and learners at the Centre of Science and Technology (Cosat) in Khayelitsha. Cosat’s matric pass rate increased to 99.0% in 2023, up from 92.5% last year. Moreover, 61.2% of their candidates achieved a bachelor’s pass, which is a key indicator of quality matric passes.

“Every candidate at the school enrols for Mathematics and Physical Sciences, which are key indicators of education quality,” said Maynier. “This year, Cosat achieved a Mathematics pass rate of 99.0%, and a Physical Sciences pass rate of 91.3%.

The school produced 107 distinctions, including 10 Mathematics distinctions (including 3 candidates with over 90% for Mathematics) and 4 Physical Sciences distinctions.”

Principal Tiro Motaung explained the source of the school’s success saying:

“Our success is rooted in the culture of hard work, long school days (we finish school at 16:00 from Tuesday to Thursday), Saturday school for intervention, issuing two reports per term, and offering a variety of after-school activities like Robotics, Stem club, debate, music and sports. We embody our school motto ‘No excuses, just success’.”

Nomzamo High top achiever with six distinctions Busisa Madolo. (Photo: Velani Ludidi)

Nomzamo High, a school built on prefabs following overcrowding of high schools in the Strand area, has improved its pass rate for the fifth consecutive year. The school now boasts a pass rate of 88.5% up from 66.4%. The school’s top achiever, Busisa Madolo first saw his results online but did not tell anyone that he received six distinctions until he met his principal on Friday afternoon. 

“I am still in disbelief. I wanted the principal to first hand me the official statement [of results],” he said. The distinctions are for English, Mathematical literacy, Accounting, Business Studies and Life Orientation. 

“I was under a lot of pressure because we have quarterly awards at school and I won them. What worked for me was preparing early and putting in the hard work. I will be taking a gap year just to find myself before deciding on the next step to take.” 

Rusthof Secondary learners celebrated their matric results on Friday. (Photo: Velani Ludidi)

Rusthof Secondary top achiever Lathitha Joni. (Photo: Velani Ludidi)

About five kilometres from Nomzamo High rests Rusthof Secondary School. It is one of the province’s struggling schools, but the 2023 matriculants moved the pass rate to 64.1% from 47.6% in the previous year. Out of the 153 matriculants that started in 2o23, 98 completed the school year. The school presented Lathitha Joni with a medal in front of his classmates for being the top achiever, passing with four distinctions. 

“I asked my mother that I stop doing the house chores for the whole of 2023 and she agreed. From there, I crisscrossed different schools in the area practising with fellow matriculants, and I did not have a single weekend for resting or entertainment.” 

He said that two universities had already provisionally accepted him to study medicine.

Akeefah Payne is Manenberg Secondary School’s top achiever. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

At Manenberg Secondary School in Cape Town, there were cheers from the matriculants who had gathered for their results. Normally, the area was known for violent gun flare-ups between rival gangs, but on Friday, there were hugs, laughter and selfies being taken by learners as results were handed out. 

The school’s top learner Afeekah Payne (18) received two distinctions – in Tourism and Mathematics. She told Daily Maverick she was relieved grade 12 was over as “the workload was so much and there was so little time to prepare”. 

In 2024, Payne said she would take a gap year from learning and find a job. Afterwards, she would apply to flight school to become a flight attendant. 

Manenberg Secondary School in the Western Cape has drastically improved its pass rate over the past few years. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

Principal of Manenberg Secondary School Cameron Williams. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

Learners’ parents also gathered with the celebrating learners. Jacqueline Lovalot and her husband John were there with her foster son Byron Harmse. While Harmse had run off to celebrate with his friends, he left his report with his foster mother. “It wasn’t always easy but God…” she said. 

Harmse is the child of one of Lovalot’s relatives who asked her to look after him before she passed. Lovalot has fostered Harmse for four years now. This is the fourth foster child Lovalot has supported — and all four have passed matric. At the start of 2023, Lovalot said she spoke to Harmse and advised him to drop his friends and soccer to focus on his schoolwork. “You don’t have time to waste,” she said. 

Jacqueline Lovalot has adopted four children. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

Inathi Venfold cries with joy after receiving her matric results at Manenberg Secondary School. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

Unfortunately, Harmse’s grade 11 marks were not enough for him to go to university, so he didn’t apply. 

“He was scared his results weren’t good enough,” said Lovalot. With the help of a social worker, the family worked out a plan to help Harmse. 

Around the middle of last year, the family started to see results. Harmse’s June results and final year results gave him a Bachelor’s pass. Harmse has decided to submit a late university application as he wanted to study teaching.

Schools in Gauteng

Overall, the Gauteng class of 2023, received an 82.9% pass rate, with 40.9% obtaining Bachelors’ passes.

“Last year was very hectic, it really emphasised how little time we had to prepare for all the tests and examinations that were coming up,” said Reneliwe Sithole, a matriculant from Noordwyk Secondary School in Midrand, Gauteng. The school achieved a 91.0% pass rate — decreasing from the 94.7% recording in 2022. 

Gauteng’s top achievers at the announcement of the 2023 Gauteng matric results in Bryanston. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

Sithole said while the year was challenging, the support system she had was helpful. 

“I feel like it was made much easier by the teachers because they were very supportive throughout the year,” she said. 

“Some of the challenges I faced were balancing my social life and academic life, as well as disciplining myself, choosing things that are more important than what I want to do”. 

The class of 2023 had to contend with the continued fallout from Covid-19 pandemic. 

“Grade 9 was very difficult because of Covid. It was a crucial year, and I found challenges in grades 10 and 11. It did derail me a bit but by working hard and pushing throughout last year, I managed,” said Sithole. 

Sithole said she was eager to pursue higher education and was keeping her options open. 

“I definitely want to pursue higher education. Being this young, I still do not know who I am fully, so I am going to give myself the opportunity to explore different career fields,” she said. 

Tiisetso Mbewe, another pupil from the school also said the matric year was challenging. 

“There was a lot of pressure to make sure that your marks are good enough for university, but I had a good support structure so that helped,” she said. 

Mbewe also said that the Covid-19 pandemic harmed her schooling during grade 9. 

“Grade 9 was bad and our marks were very bad. We used to come to school two days a week and then skip the next week and then start again the next week, so it was very bad and challenging,” she said. 

Mosebjadi Phasha, another student from the school, credited her teachers for helping her succeed. 

“I found matric overwhelming and the workload was just too much but there were teachers that we saw were very passionate about us succeeding, they put in a lot of work even outside their working hours and they just made sure that we succeeded,” she said. 

For Phasha, the Covid-19 pandemic greatly affected her academic results. 

“I am one person who almost failed Grade 9, I was condoned and that was a really big lesson for me,” she said. 

“In grade 9, it was supposed to be the primary for matric, but then we did not write the necessary papers or examinations so grade 9 was a very difficult year”.

Rifumo Khoza (right), next to her friend Lesego Keagilehas, react emotionally after finding out she passed her matric year outside Midrand High School in Johannesburg on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Lerato Mutsila)

Learners from the matric Class of 2023 anxiously await their results outside Midrand High School in Johannesburg on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Lerato Mutsila)

Lethabo Mkhabela (left) and Nseketelo Chauke celebrate passing matric with a Bachelor’s Degree pass outside Centurion Secondary School on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Lerato Mutsila)

At Midrand High School in Johannesburg, students from the class of 2023 gathered outside the school gate, anxiously awaiting the release of their results. Waiting outside with the students, Daily Maverick witnessed the moment when one of the students, Rifumo Khoza, found out she had passed her matric year.

Looking at the results on her phone, Khoza was overcome with emotion, letting out an excited squeal before covering her mouth. 

“I’m so happy, I’m so happy,” Khoza told Daily Maverick after the reality that she had just accomplished a pivotal milestone in her academic career had just sunk in. “I’m very relieved that I passed because I was very anxious. I didn’t think that I would fail, but the question in my mind was how well I would pass and if I would get any distinctions,” the 18-year-old matriculant said.

Guests at the announcement of the 2023 Gauteng matric results in Bryanston.(Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

Gauteng’s top achievers at the announcement of the 2023 Gauteng matric results in Bryanston. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

While Khoza didn’t get any distinctions, she is still proud of her accomplishment, having overcome starting Grade 9 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and having to readjust to in-person learning after the subsequent lockdown was lifted. 

Sitting not far from Khoza was Tatenda Nyanjowa, who, unlike her classmate, had yet to find out whether she had passed matric. Nyanjowa shared how she struggled to enjoy the festive season as the anxiety of the pending results weighed heavy on her mind. 

“I felt it even more at the end of the holiday when my mom stressing me always asking about results,” Nyajowa said.

Even though,  at the time of publication, Nyajowa had yet to find out how she performed in 2023, she received an SMS informing her that she obtained a distinction in accounting. 

“Even though I don’t know the rest of the results, I feel proud about getting a distinction in accounting. In term one, I got 50%, and now I have a distinction. That’s like a 30% increase,” Nyajowa said. 

The matriculant attributed the improvement in her marks to picking up her socks and focusing on her studies. “The first time I saw I got 50%, I was like okay, ‘it’s time to wake up’ and I just started working really hard,” Nyajowa shared.

Matriculants and their school principal shaking hands at Mohlakaneng Secondary in Seshego. (Photo: Rudzani Tshivhase)

Schools in Limpopo

Limpopo province achieved a 79.5% pass rate.

Showing a 2% improvement on the previous year, Molautsi Secondary obtained 72.3% . The school was once known for ill-discipline and gang membership among its learners, which made news headlines in 2018.

Raisetja Mashao, Deputy Principal of Molautsi Secondary, said that 121 learners sat for the national senior certificate examination and 86 passed. She said discipline has since improved in the school and that contributed to the improvement of results. 

In 2018, at least 27 learners were reportedly pregnant which attracted much exposure to the school. 

“There is a lot of improvement in terms of that because ever since then we had support from other stakeholders, social workers, the police, they are really of much help in terms of the general discipline of learners” said Mashao.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Long-awaited policy on pregnant learners inspires hopes of equal access to education

In the streets of Moletjie village, there was jubilation among matric learners who passed. Daily Maverick met Moloko Mashamaite and his mother who were struggling to find network reception on a cellphone to get his matric results. 

While many matriculants are talking about further university study, Mashamaite wants to study carpentry at FET colleges. He said vocational training is the way to find employment in the country.  

“I will work as a carpenter and maybe later on I’ll open my own company. We cannot all of us go to universities — some of us should consider vocational training. It will help to resolve the problem of unemployment,” said Mashamaite.

Mohlakaneng High School, which produced the likes of EFF leader Julius Malema and ANC MP Boy Mamabolo,  got 87% — a drop of almost 4% from the 90.9% the school achieved in 2022. Nevertheless, school principal Doctor Maite Mathikithela was celebrating. 

“In the first place we managed to hit the target of the province, which was 70% and the target in our district, which is 85%. We managed to obtain 87% although it is a slight drop from the class of 2022. It is a great achievement for us, looking at the kind of learners that we are teaching. Last year most of them were struggling but we managed to push through. During term one last year, we were at 55%, second term we were at 67% but we didn’t lose hope — we managed to fight to term three when we got 77%. That’s when we realised that we’re moving,” said Mathikithela.

Elsewhere, top learners and their parents were in attendance at the Ranch Hotel, where MEC for Education Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya was officially announcing the official results.

Nthabiseng Lefopha, from Bokamoso Secondary in Seshego was announced as a top performer, while the province obtained a 79.5% pass rate — one of the most improved provinces in the country.DM

Western Cape Reporting by Sune Payne and Velani Ludidi. Gauteng Reporting by Msindisi Fengu, Takudzwa Pongweni and Lerato Mutsila. Limpopo Reporting by Rudzani Tshivhase.

This is a developing story and shall be updated with results from other provinces.