Western Cape school and district results deliver more good news!
21 January 2022
This morning I visited Scottsville Secondary School to celebrate the release of the individual 2021 National Senior Certificate results to learners.
The school had the greatest improvement in pass rate last year across the whole province, from 29.5% in 2020 to 64.0% in 2021 with a similar number of matrics writing in both years – an increase of 34.5 percentage points! They also achieved a 22.5% bachelors pass rate – double what it was last year.
I congratulate Principal Henry Hockey and his team, and I look forward to an even greater improvement this year.
A number of other schools have also achieved impressive increases in pass rate:
- Range Secondary School: 77.4% (+29.6)
- Y2K College: 95.2% (+27.7) – independent
- Silverstream Secondary School: 62.5% (+27.5)
- Manenberg Secondary School: 57.3% (+27.3)
- Steenberg Secondary School: 92.7% (+26.2)
- Brandvlei Youth Centre: 94.7% (+25.9) – independent
- Mandlenkosi Secondary School: 80.0% (+25.8)
I can also report the number of underperforming schools achieving a pass rate of less than 60% has decreased this year, from 52 in 2020 to 40 in 2021. (We use the 60% pass rate level to determine which schools need attention, rather than the 40% level used by the DBE.) This is a large improvement, and impressive during a pandemic, and we congratulate all the schools who upped their game in challenging conditions. We will work closely with the remaining underperforming schools to ensure that they, too, can improve their results.
District performance
Yesterday, the national minister announced that two of our districts – Metro North Education District, and Eden and Central Karoo Education District – have ranked in the top 10 in the country. I again congratulate Director Wendy Horn of MNED, and Director Jewel Jonkers of ECKED, on this outstanding achievement. ECKED also had the largest increase in pass rate of all our districts.
I am pleased to be in the Metro East Education District today, as the district which had the second largest increase in pass rate after ECKED, from 73.24% in 2020 to 77.14% in 2021. I thank Director Landeka Diamond for the hard work she is doing in that district, and look forward to even greater things to come!
The district results are as follows:
- Cape Winelands: 76.31% (-2.15)
- Eden and Central Karoo: 84.33% (+5.26)
- Metro Central: 82.76% (-0.01)
- Metro East: 77.14% (+3.90)
- Metro North: 85.87% (+0.76)
- Metro South: 79.66% (+1.41)
- Overberg: 81.55% (+1.11)
- West Coast: 80.68% (-1.54)
Quintile performance
There is more good news to share in terms of quintiles.
I am also very pleased to announce, that for the first time since the inception of the NSC, quintile 3 schools achieved a higher pass rate than quintile 4 schools. In addition, they also achieved a higher percentage of bachelor passes!
In 2021, quintile 3 schools achieved a pass rate of 75.8% and a bachelor pass rate of 32.5%, compared to quintile 4 with a 74.7% pass rate and a 30.2% bachelor rate. We will work with our quintile 4 schools over the coming year to ensure that they improve further as well.
The reduction in the inequality gap between our quintile 4-5 schools and our quintile 1-3 schools is significant. We have worked hard to reduce this gap and the effort is paying off.
If we compare our performance from 2008, when the first NSC examination was written, to today, our poorer schools have made great strides. The gap between the pass rate of quintile 1-3 schools and quintile 4 schools decreased from 12.4 percentage points to 1.6 percentage points. The gap between quintile 1-3 schools and quintile 5 schools reduced from 31.5 percentage points to 16.9 percentage points.
It is our vision to provide quality education to every learner, in every classroom, in every school in the Province – these stats evidently show that, with continued determination and commitment, we are on track to achieve it! Congratulations to our quintile 1-3 schools for this remarkable achievement.
Re-marks and supplementary exams
For those candidates that did not achieve their desired results, there are options. I would encourage all learners who did not pass their exams not to give up and to continue doing whatever they can to complete Grade 12.
There are measures in place to receive counselling for anyone who is disappointed with their results, either by approaching their school, which will put them in touch with the relevant people in the district offices, or by phoning the Safe Schools Hotline - 0800 45 46 47.
Those that qualify for supplementary examinations must apply by 18 February 2022. Application forms will be available at schools and on the WCED website.
Learners can apply for remarks (R104 per subject) and rechecks (R25 per subject) until 4 February 2022. They can apply using the online service: http://www.eservices.gov.za/
More information on these options is available here:
https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/national-senior-certificate-nsc-exams-november-2021
Congratulations again to our Class of 2021 – a fantastic set of achievements of which we can all be very proud!
Learners can check their results here:
https://cemis.westerncape.gov.za/pls/lts2005.learner_exams.home?ft=p1hp
Statement issued by Western Cape Minister of Education Debbie Schäfer, 21 January 2022
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WESTERN CAPE MATRIC CLASS OF 2021 – OUR SUPERSTARS
21 January 2022
I am absolutely delighted with the results of the Matric Class of 2021 in the Western Cape. Our provincial pass rate was announced by Minister Angie Motshekga this evening as 81.2% - an increase of 1.3 percentage points from last year.
Considering that this was achieved after two years of a global pandemic, makes it even more remarkable. The Class of 2021 has had a tough two years. Their Grade 11 year in 2020 was marred by school closures, with their Grade going back to class later than many others. However, their matric year has been very stable, with more time in class than in other matric years. Our schools, districts and Head Office have put in extensive time and effort to prepare these candidates, from providing extra classes in the afternoons and on weekends, extra revision materials, online revision support, and a host of other measures. The results speak for themselves.
What makes our performance even more impressive is that we had 6 076 extra candidates writing this year, which makes it more difficult to increase the percentage.
Our retention rate from Grade 10 to 12 (those actually writing the NSC) – one of the most important education measures – has increased by 3.7 percentage points to 70.3% (our highest ever). This is another fantastic achievement.
We have also achieved our highest ever percentage of Bachelors passes, at 45.3% - the highest in the country!
A further two important indicators for our province are the Mathematics and Science pass rates. In Mathematics, our province’s pass rate increased to 72.4% (+1.6 percentage points) and in Science increased to 77.1% (+2.2 percentage points). We congratulate our specialist teachers for their efforts in these subjects, and out learners for their excellent performance.
We are also delighted to have not one, but two districts in the top ten in the country! This is the second year that Metro North Education District (MNED) is on the list, and it is now joined by Eden and Central Karoo Education District (ECKED)! This is a wonderful achievement – I congratulate Director Wendy Horn of MNED, and Director Jewel Jonkers of ECKED, on this outstanding achievement in such difficult circumstances.
Speaking of excellent performances, I would like to heartily congratulate the following learners, who have achieved top spots in the country:
TOP LEARNERS FOR MATHEMATICS
- Ziyaad Banderker (Rondebosch Boys’ High School)
- Anna Christina Kriel (Rhenish Girls’ High School)
- Ruan Hermann Buhr (Paul Roos Gimnasium)
TOP LEARNERS IN QUINTILE 5
1. Ulrich le Roux (Hoer Jongeskool Paarl) – national top learner
2. Simone Wessels (Stellenberg HS)
3. Ahyoung Moon (Rhenish Girls’ High)
So once again, we have come number 1 in terms of the quality of our education, even if not on the league table, and I would like to extend a hearty congratulations to the Class of 2021, their teachers, families and our officials, all of whom have put in so much effort to help them reach this excellent performance. You have made your province extremely proud, and proved that we can overcome the challenge of Covid-19. I remind you to celebrate safely!
To the Class of 2022: the way has been paved for you to succeed even as the pandemic continues. We will support you to the fullest, but it is up to you to work hard and focus on your future this year. We know that you can make us just as proud as the Class of 2021 has done.
Learners can collect their results from their schools from midday tomorrow, 21 January 2022, at 11h00. They will also be available on the WCED website:
https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/
Statement issued by Western Cape Minister of Education Debbie Schäfer, 20 January 2022
