Western Cape #ClassOf2022 beat the odds!
Statement by Minister David Maynier, Minister of Education Western Cape
We are delighted that the Western Cape matric Class of 2022 has beaten the odds and increased our provincial matric pass rate to 81.4%, with 49 102 candidates passing their exams – the largest number of successful candidates we’ve ever had!
More importantly, every single one of our successful candidates received a matric pass that makes them eligible to apply to universities or colleges. This means that we have extended opportunity to nearly 50 000 young people who are now ready to take the next step into higher education and skills development, which is great news!
In addition, five of our candidates were recognised by the national minister as the best of the best – including the top candidate in the whole country!
Top candidates in Quintile 5:
1st place: Kelly Grace Prowse (Rustenberg Girls’ High School)
2nd place: Simone Anna Mart Louw (Bloemhof High School)
3rd place: Kenneth Janson (Hoër Jongenskool Paarl)
Top candidates in Quintile 3:
2nd place: Athenkosi Khonzani (Centre of Science and Technology – COSAT)
Top candidates in Mathematics:
1st place: Kelly Grace Prowse (Rustenberg Girls’ High School)
3rd place: Jason Frederik de Villiers (Rondebosch Boys’ High)
What makes this achievement all the more extraordinary is that the matric Class of 2022 was at the greatest disadvantage due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and other disruptions during the exam period.
This class was one of the last to go back to school in 2020, and were not at school every day during 2021. Their curriculum was trimmed for three years, but the matric exams tested the full content. And they did not have any exam practice in Grade 10 and 11.
In matric, they have struggled with the ongoing challenge of load-shedding. While we were able to conduct all of our exams successfully despite the power cuts, they left many learners in the dark in the evenings when they needed to study.
Candidates in Cape Town had the added disruption of a major taxi strike during their exams. Due to the extraordinary efforts of our schools, parents, and learners, our candidates were all able to write their exams during the strike.
This was also the biggest matric class we have ever had, with 2 629 extra candidates compared to last year, and our highest exam turnout rate since 2015. In other words, a greater proportion of the learners who registered for the matric exams at the beginning of 2022 actually wrote the full set of exams than in recent years.
So raising the pass rate this year really is an outstanding achievement. Their success has two key ingredients:
Firstly, our candidates received incredible support from their teachers, parents, and district offices, who pulled out all stops to make sure our learners could succeed. 26 000 learners attended winter school, and 23 000 attended spring school, during school holidays. In addition, schools held afternoon and Saturday classes, districts organized streamed lessons, our ePortal had dedicated matric resources, and special attention was also paid to the wellbeing and mental health of our learners this year.
We thank everyone who played a role in supporting our candidates, especially our matric teachers who have done a phenomenal job in tough circumstances to prepare their learners.
But the second, and most important, key ingredient is the unbeatable spirit of the Class of 2022.
Faced with the challenges of the pandemic and load-shedding, they could have been tempted to give up. But they showed incredible grit, and gave their all, putting in hundreds of extra hours of work, and investing in their own futures.
We are so proud of them, and we can’t wait to see what they do next!
Candidates can collect their results from their schools from 11h00 tomorrow, 20 January 2022. They will also be available on the WCED website: https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/
Media Enquiries:
Kerry Mauchline
Spokesperson to Minister David Maynier
Western Cape Ministry of Education
Kerry.Mauchline@westerncape.gov.za