Grade 12 learners have entered the final straight of their school careers as they prepare for the 2004 Senior Certificate examinations in October and November this year.

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has distributed the final Senior Certificate examination timetable to schools.

The examinations will begin on Monday 11 October with first language papers in Afrikaans, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Setswana and German. The examinations will end on Friday, 19 November, at 14h00 with Mercantile Law (Standard Grade).

More than 58 500 candidates have entered for the Senior Certificate examinations, of whom more than 41 800 are full-time candidates.

Candidates will write "mock matric" during September, which are regarded as a "dress rehearsal" for the final examinations.

Most schools prepare their own timetables and papers for the September examinations, while those participating in the WCED's Learning Schools Project (LSP) will write common papers for some subjects, using the same timetable.

The LSP assists schools that obtained matric pass rates of less than 60% in the previous year’s matric examinations. The WCED’s Education Management and Development Centres (EMDCs) manage the LSP in each education district.

A total of 39 schools are participating in the LSP, while a total of 123 schools have asked to write examinations set by the LSP team.

Matric candidates are now approaching the end of the last full term of their school careers. The third term ends on Thursday, 23 September, while the fourth term starts on Monday, 4 October, leaving a week before the start of the final matric examinations.

Candidates can find the final matric timetable on the WCED web site at http://wced.gov.za. They can also download the 2003 matric examination papers and marking memos from this site.  See "Information for Learners" under "At your service" on the home page.