Matric 2025: Highest pass rate at 88%
A learner from George's York High, Abigail Kok, was named South Africa’s top public-school achiever for the Class of 2025 as matric results hit a record 88% pass rate. Minister Siviwe Gwarube hailed the outcomes as credible, highlighting progress, provincial performances and challenges.
The Class of 2025 has achieved a historic 88% National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate – the highest in South African history – marking a significant milestone for the basic education sector.
The top achiever of the Class of 2025 (public schools) is Abigail Kok from York High School in George.
Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube announced this during a breakfast on January 12 in Johannesburg for the top 40 achievers in the matric exams of 2025.
The top achiever for independent schools is Kamogelo Aaron Tshabalala from Acudeo College in Kirkney in Gauteng while the top achiever for learners with special educational needs is Takaura Muchuveni from Jan Kriel School in the Western Cape.
The minister reaffirmed the credibility of the national examinations and reflected on what the results reveal about the health, progress and challenges of South Africa’s education system during her key address.
The national pass rate represents an increase of about 0.7% from 2024 and was met with resounding applause during the official release of the results at Mosiac Church, in Fairlands.
In Gauteng the pass rate was 89.1%, with the different pass rates in the Tshwane school districts as follows: Tshwane North fared the best with a rate of 92.3% pass rate, with Tshwane West receiving 89.6%, and Tshwane South achieveing a 90.3% pass rate.
In Gauteng, learners at 938 schools wrote the exams.
The following Pretoria schools achieved a 100% pass rate, according to the report from 2021 to 2025: Gereformeerde Skool Dirk Postma, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, Al Ghazali, Al ASR Educational Institute, Central Islamic School, Cornerstone College Secondary School, Elmer College, Loreto Convent School, Raslouw Academy, and TuksSport High School.
The Gauteng Department of Education will announced the detailed Gauteng results and achievers on January 13 in Centurion.
In her address, the minister emphasised that “education lies at the heart of South Africa’s national renewal, shaping the country’s future long before it is debated in public spaces”.
She highlighted the importance of stability, accountability and co-operation in strengthening institutions, noting that the NSC remains one of the largest and most complex assessment processes in the country, with rigorous quality assurance measures in place to protect its integrity.
Gwarube outlined a clear shift towards long-term, evidence-based reform, stressing that meaningful change in a system serving millions of learners requires sustained leadership, trust, and alignment across all levels.
Examining the details, the minister observed that 46% of the passes were for bachelor’s degrees, 28% for diplomas, and 13.5% for higher certificates.
The minister also gave a detailed breakdown of the 2025 matric pass rates per province:
KwaZulu-Natal achieved the highest pass rate of 90.60%, Free State achieved 89.33% and Gauteng 89.06%. North West followed with 88.49%, the Western Cape managed 88.20%, while the Northern Cape received 87.79%. Mpumalanga achieved 86.55% and Limpopo managed 86.15%. The Eastern Cape came last with a pass rate of 84.17%.
Gwarube acknowledged that South Africa has an exceptionally high dropout rate, suggesting that the pass rate does not accurately reflect the quality of the nation’s basic education system.
The matric pass rate for private schools has however dropped. The assessment authority for these schools, the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), has achieved an overall pass rate of 98.31% in the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations.
The pass rate is slightly lower than the class of 2024’s 98.47%. This time 89.12% of the candidates have achieved entry to degree study, while 7.83% qualified for diploma study.
More than 17 000 candidates wrote their matric exams in 2025 set by the IEB, and of those 1.34% achieved entry to Higher Certificate study.
The pass rate for 2025 of the candidates from the 62 institutions registered with the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI), has remained stable: from 73% in 2024 to 73.16% in 2025.
On a closer analysis of the results, the following can be concluded according to CEO Chris Klopper: Seventeen of the institutions registered with SACAI achieved a 100% pass rate and 94% of the candidates were registered for the NSC examination via distance education providers or online schools. Fifty-one percent (1 897) of the passes achieved university exemption and 2 225 distinctions were achieved.
SACAI provides an alternative assessment route for learners who may not be able to complete their school careers in mainstream educational environments. SACAI’s candidate profile represents a wide range of needs and realities.
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