Western Cape Class of 2022 results in a nutshell
21 February 2023
A total of 2 629 more candidates, compared to the previous year, sat for the 2022 National Senior Certificate exams, representing the highest exam turnout rate since 2015.
The pass rate increased to 81.4% with a retention rate of nearly 70%, resulting in 49 102 candidates passing their matric exams.
Every successful candidate received a matric pass that makes them eligible to apply to universities or colleges.
All districts scored above 77% with Metro North topping the district log at 85.46%.
Metro Central, Metro East, Cape Winelands and Overberg districts all increased their pass rates.
School performance per quintile
Quintile 1 schools raised their pass rate by 2 percentage points to 70.8%, beating quintile 2 schools.
Quintile 3 schools also increased their pass rate by 0.3 percentage points, to 76.1%.
These schools are rapidly closing the gap with higher quintiles.
The number of underperforming schools (schools that have achieved below 60%) declined from 38 in 2021, to 30 in 2022.
Top candidates nationally
Five Western Cape candidates ranked amongst the best and the brightest in South Africa.
- Kelly Prowse from Rustenberg Girls’ High School was recognised as the top candidate in Quintile 5, the top candidate in Mathematics, and the joint top candidate in the entire country!
- Simone Louw from Bloemhof High School ranked second in Quintile 5, while Kenneth Janson from Hoër Jongenskool Paarl was third in the same category.
- Athenkosi Khonzani from the Centre of Science and Technology was awarded second place in the Quintile 3 category.
- Jason de Villiers from Rondebosch Boys’ High was the second placed candidate in Mathematics.
The full list of awards presented to candidates for the best performance in specified subjects, outstanding performance in the Special Needs category, Special Ministerial awards and awards to the top 40 candidates in the province is available here.
The full list of awards to schools is available here.