Every district in WC sees improvement in matric pass rate

CAPE TOWN - Days after the announcement of the matric class of 2024's NSC results, candidates in the Western Cape are still reveling in the glory. 

Every district in the province improved its pass rate, breaching the 80% mark for the first time since 2016.

In 2023, 29 schools were underperforming while in 2024, there were just five schools that did not achieve a pass rate higher than 60%.

ALSO READ: Matric class of 2024 achieves SA's highest-ever pass rate

Heideveld Senior Secondary School is celebrating a 12% increase in its pass rate, that's gone up to 72%, from 60% in 2023.

Last year's Grade 12 head at the no-fee school, Marlene Douries, said that while the school was striving to achieve even better results, they were elated by the upward trend.

Before the start of the final exams, the school and the community rallied to cook breakfast for learners arriving at school with empty stomachs.

Many of their matrics came from households struggling to make ends meet.

Douries believes this contributed to the positive results.

She said that Heideveld Secondary had its sights set on a 100% pass rate and would do its utmost to get there.

Joe Slovo Secondary School in Khayelitsha is celebrating a matric pass rate that increased from 87.2% in 2023 to 99.3%.

Crestway High School in Retreat had previously received a matric pass rate of 35.9%, one of the worst-performing schools in the province.

Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University, Jonathan Jansen, who grew up nearby, stepped in to help turn things around and in just a year, hard work and determination pushed the pass rate up to more than 60%.