The Class of 2025 in Gauteng achieved a 89.06% pass rate, the highest ever for the province.

Three Pretoria Schools were named as top schools, with Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria coming first, Die Hoërskool Menlo Park second and Hoërskool Waterkloof third.

The third and second top learners in Pretoria schools were Kabogelo Tshabalala from Acadeo Kollege Kirkney in Pretoria West and Willem Liebenberg from Hoërskool Montana in Pretoria North, respectively. The top learner in Gauteng is Mahir Modi, from Greenside High School in Johannesburg.

The Tshwane North school district came second in the top-three school districts.

Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane and the Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, handed over these awards at a special ceremony of the department’s matric results on January 13 in Centurion. The Zwarimbas of Hoërskool Zwartkop entertained the guests.

Nineteen percent of all learners who wrote the matric exams were in Gauteng, of which 125 513 passed.

Chiloane attributed their success to supplementary materials, textbooks, study guides, revision notes, worksheets, and learners reaching beyond what their home circumstances could provide.

Teachers and the department also utilised the school breaks to offer vacation classes.

“We also mobilised volunteer tutors from communities and universities. Information technology interventions included devices, data connectivity, online content, virtual classrooms, and the broadcast of lessons so that learners in townships could access the same learning resources as learners anywhere else.”

Chiloane mentioned that in 2009, the gap between no-fee schools and fee-paying schools was 24 percentage points. With the Class of 2025, it now sits at a difference of seven percentage points.

“This is not accidental policy. That is deliberate investment in equity,” said Chiloane.

No-fee township schools achieved a 87.3% pass rate this year, up from 86.4% in 2024. Non-township schools achieved 93.8%, up from 93%.

Chiloane was, however, concerned about boys dropping out of school.

“We have a boys crisis. When boys take mathematics and physical science, they outperform girls. Their problem is not aptitude. It is that they are leaving the system.

“Boys represent 44% of our matric cohort, down from where we would expect them to be. The dropout pressure comes late, between Grade 11 and 12, when we lose about 22% of learners overall, and that loss is disproportionately boys,” he said.

Looking at municipal boundaries, he pointed out that Pretoria achieved a 90.3% pass rate, unchanged from 2024, showing sustained excellence.

This year, 181 Gauteng schools achieved 100% pass rate. The Pretoria school with the most bachelor’s passes was Hoërskool Garsfontein, with Hoërskool Waterkloof in second. More than 39 000 learners earned diploma passes.

He pointed out that the Class of 2025 lost more than half their teaching time in grades 8 and 9 due to school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, “and still they performed!” he exclaimed.

Pretoria schools and learners earned various accolades and were recognised for several achievements.

Chiloane singled Tshwane North out as one of the star school districts with a pass rate of 92.05%. As a school area in Gauteng, Tshwane’s pass rate is 90.3%.

Two Pretoria schools for learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN) were among the top three schools in Gauteng, with Nuwe Hoop School in Pretoria east coming third and Prinshof School in the CBD in the first place. Clarissa Whittal of the Prinshof school in the Pretoria CBD was also number one on the list for Top 3 Learners from special needs schools.

The top learner in English first additional language was Carla Venter from Die Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria.
Several learners occupied the top position in several subjects:

Admire Gwatinyanya is the top learner in Physical Sciences, hailing from Nellmapius Secondary School in Pretoria east.

From Hoërskool Montana in Pretoria North came the top learner in Accounting, Wilhelm Liebenberg, who was also second overall in the province.

In Geography, Siyabonga Mashaba of Soshanguve East Secondary School came out on top.

In the category of top independent schools, Cornerstone College in Silverton came in third.

Best in Mathematics was Kamagelo Tshabalala from Acudeo College Kirkney, who was also the top learner from an independent school and the third-best learner in the province.

– Click hear to listen to comment from learners from the number one school in Gauteng, die Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria.

SCHOOL NEWS: Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool in Pretoria is the number 1 school in Gauteng. Matric learners from the school, Dionne Nel, Simone Botes and Cara Bouwer shares their post matric dreams. Video: Elize parker pic.twitter.com/4VGXHTZIbN

— Pretoria Rekord (@RekordNewspaper) January 14, 2026

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