Matriculants had reason to celebrate this week as they received their results.

There was an overall pass rate of 84.30% in the Metro South education district up from 78.5% the year before. And the Bachelor’s pass rate - the pass needed for entry to university - increased from 39% to 44.6%.

The pass rate at Bergvliet High School remained steady at 99.5% with the Bachelor’s pass rate increasing slightly from 87.3% to 87,4%.

“We recall that this group of matriculants were in Grade 8 during the Covid pandemic and despite the challenges they faced during that difficult period, they all pulled through to 2024,” said Bergvliet High principal Patricia Demas. “There was significant emotional trauma endured by several learners and not only their respective families but everyone around them. Supported by family, the school and friends, they found the strength to persevere and shine through to successfully complete their matric year. You are heroes in our eyes.”

Wynberg Girls’ High School scored a 97,7% pass rate with a 93% Bachelor's pass rate.

The top pupil Thanaa Parker earned seven distinctions, with an aggregate of 90.1%.

“The matrics of 2024 stand as a testament to our proud tradition of academic excellence at Wynberg Girls' High School. Their results reflect the skill, dedication, and passion of our teachers, the commitment of our learners, and the supportive academic environment that empowers our learners to excel,” said principal Dr Jennifer Wallace.

Meanwhile in the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, Reddam House Constantia contributed 288 distinctions.

Within the IEB’s list of achievers in the Top 1% of subjects, 15 Reddam House pupils achieved this prestigious national ranking in a total of 21 subjects.

The top achiever was Julia Monk from Reddam House Constantia with a 1% ranking in three subjects.

Julia is one of three pupils from Reddam House Constantia, along with twins, Abigail and Kiara Bester, who achieved a national ranking within the top 5% in six or more subjects, placing them on the IEB Outstanding Achievement List.

Julia scored eight distinctions with an aggregate of 92.5%. Abigail achieved eight distinctions with a an aggregate of 92% and her sister, Kiara, earned eight distinctions with an aggregate of 90.0%.

The achievements in the district mirror an overall positive trend in the country’s matric results. The 87.3% pass rate in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams is the highest in the country’s history, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced on Monday.

The pass rate increased 4.4 percentage points from 82.9% in 2023. It was 80.1% in 2022 and 76.4% in 2021.

And in another first, all nine provinces scored above 84% with 47.8% of matriculants earning passes good enough for university entry.

The Western Cape scored a pass rate of 86.6%, behind top-ranked Free State with 91%, KwaZulu-Natal with 89.5%, Gauteng with 88.4% and North West with 87.5%, and ahead of Limpopo with 85%, Mpumalanga with 84.99%, Eastern Cape with 84.98% and Northern Cape with 84.2%.

Praising the class of 2024, Education MEC David Maynier said it had delivered the province’s highest NSC pass rate - a 5.1% percentage point improvement on last year.

“Thank you for the hard work that you put in to ensure you achieved your goals. You made a decision to invest in your futures, and we look forward to seeing what you will accomplish after matric.”

The Western Cape had the highest retention rate from Grade 10 to 12 in the country at 68.3%, and nearly 3 800 more provincial pupils had passed their matric exam this year compared to 2023, he said.

The province had also achieved the top maths and physical science pass rates again this year - 78% and 79.4% respectively.

Wynberg Girls High School principal Dr Jennifer Wallace, middle, with matriculants, from left, Zeenat Parker, Eva Schrönen, Khiara Meier, Thanaa Parker, Shareefa Orrie, Ameera Parker and Aaliyah Hoosain.

Julia Monk of Reddam House Constantia earned eight distinctions, including 98% for maths and over 90% in life orientation, Afrikaans first additional language, physical sciences, accounting, music and further studies maths. Picture: supplied