Record-breaking results as 2025 matrics hit 88% pass rate

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Individual results

Students will be able to collect their individual results today. See how to obtain your results here. While Umalusi reassured the public of the integrity of the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results, the process was unfortunately not without incident.

Around 40 students will not be receiving their results along with the rest of their matriculating class today, following their alleged involvement in the exam paper leak in the Tshwane area, which affected seven papers across three subjects.

Primary & Secondary Education

Results of alleged 2025 matric exam cheats to be delayed

3 days

Overall results

Over 900,000 full-time and part-time candidates wrote in the 2025 NSC exams, with more than 656,000 learners achieving a pass.

The results according to province are:

1. KwaZulu-Natal - 90.6%
   
2. Free State - 89.33%
   
3. Gauteng - 89.06%
   
4. North West - 88.49%
   
5. Western Cape - 88.2%
   
6. Northern Cape - 87.79% - biggest improvement of all the provinces
   
7. Mpumalanga - 86.55%
   
8. Limpopo - 86.15%
   
9. Eastern Cape - 84.17%
   

Gwarube said that while the national percentage of students earning Bachelor's passes has decreased slightly from 48% to 46%, a record number of 345,000 learners acquired their Bachelor's pass this year - marking an overall increase of 8,700 more students than ever before obtaining this achievement.

A further 28% earned diploma passes, while 13.5% received higher certificate passes.

Another record Gwarube highlighted is that for the first time ever, all 75 districts achieved a pass rate of 80% or higher.

Gateway subjects

Results in gateway subjects showed a general decline, with Gwarube pointing out that only 34% of candidates wrote Pure Mathematics, while the rest wrote Maths Literacy.

Results in gateway subjects:

• Accounting pass rate dropped to 78% from 81%
  
• Mathematics decreased from 69% to 64%
  
• Physical Science increased from 76% to 77%

Diamonds in the rough

"In township and rural communities, in no-fee schools, excellence is becoming a pattern," said Gwarube. "This year we saw a sustained growth in the number of learners in no-fee schools achieving Bachelor's passes."

This is evident with over 66% of Bachelor's passes obtained by students from no-fee schools.

"This is a national message of hope that says poverty is not a destiny and that where you come from does not mean that is where you'll end up."

While more social grant beneficiaries wrote the 2025 NSC exams, the pass rate for these candidates dropped from 86% previously to 78%.

Gwarube said this drop is a warning that needs to be understood and addressed.

"Candidates with social grants performed far better than candidates whose social grants became inactive after reaching 18 years, highlighting the importance of social protection to learner performance.

"Social protection and education outcomes are completely interlinked, and so we will be engaging with the Department of Social Development to find more sustainable ways of ensuring that we protect Gr 12 learners who are still actively in school to be able to access the social part so that their academic performance doesn't drop."

Watch the full NSC 2025 announcement here: