Education in South Africa: school phases, Matric, university admission and funding

In short

South Africa runs one national school system under the Department of Basic Education, with nine provinces carrying out much of the daily administration. Children start with a reception year called Grade R and continue to Grade 12. At the end of Grade 12 learners write the National Senior Certificate, which almost everyone still calls Matric. Universities then decide who they admit by looking at the Matric results, and some of them add their own placement tests. Alongside the state system there are independent schools, many of which enter their learners for the Independent Examinations Board instead of the state papers, and a few that teach Cambridge qualifications.

School stages

Schooling is grouped into phases rather than simple primary and secondary blocks. The Foundation Phase covers Grade R to Grade 3, the Intermediate Phase covers Grade 4 to Grade 6, and the Senior Phase covers Grade 7 to Grade 9. The Further Education and Training phase covers Grade 10 to Grade 12, and this is where learners choose a set of subjects that lead to the final certificate. The curriculum is set out in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements, called CAPS. Schooling is compulsory up to the end of Grade 9, or until a learner reaches a set age, and most families keep children in school to Grade 12.

National exams

The main national exam is the National Senior Certificate. The Department of Basic Education sets and marks the state papers, and learners usually write them in the final months of Grade 12. Subjects include two official languages, mathematics or mathematical literacy, life orientation, and electives such as physical sciences, accounting and history. Marks in each subject are turned into achievement levels, and a learner needs to reach certain levels in particular subjects to earn the certificate.

Independent schools may follow the same curriculum but sit papers set by the Independent Examinations Board, known as the IEB. The IEB certificate is also a National Senior Certificate, and South African universities treat it as equal for admission purposes.

Some private and international schools prepare learners for the Cambridge IGCSE in the middle years of secondary school and for the Cambridge A-Level at the end of it. These are international qualifications, and universities usually assess them case by case, often with help from the national qualifications bodies when they compare them with Matric.

Learners who plan to study abroad sometimes take the SAT or IELTS. These are not part of the national school system, and nobody needs them to complete Matric.

University admission

South African public universities set their own requirements. The legal minimum for a bachelor degree is a Bachelor Pass on the National Senior Certificate, which means reaching a stated level in a defined group of subjects. Meeting the minimum does not secure a place, because medicine, engineering, law and commerce programmes receive far more applications than they have seats.

Most universities rank applicants with an Admission Point Score, usually shortened to APS. The score is built from the level a learner reached in each of the best subjects, and life orientation is normally left out of the sum. Each faculty then publishes the score and the particular subjects it expects. Mathematics, and not mathematical literacy, is required for most science, engineering and commerce degrees.

Many universities also ask applicants to write the National Benchmark Tests, known as the NBT, which measure academic literacy, quantitative literacy and mathematics. Their main purpose is placement and guidance, for example deciding whether an applicant should enter an extended degree programme that gives extra time in the first years.

Students who are not aiming at a university can enter a Technical and Vocational Education and Training college, called a TVET college. These institutions offer National Certificate programmes in fields such as engineering studies, business and tourism, and many also run occupational programmes with workplace training.

Funding is a major concern for families. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme, called NSFAS, provides bursaries and loans for eligible students at public universities and TVET colleges, and applicants must apply through its own process each year.

Language of instruction

South Africa has eleven official languages, and the Constitution says that learners have the right to be taught in the official language of their choice where this is reasonably practicable. The Language in Education Policy supports additive multilingualism, which means that a learner's home language is kept and developed while others are added. In practice most learners are taught in their home language in the early grades. From Grade 4 onwards English is the language of learning and teaching in a large share of schools, while Afrikaans-medium schools continue in Afrikaans. Every learner studies at least two languages as subjects, one at home language level and one at first additional language level.

Questions on this site are written in English.

Studying in South Africa

The school year starts in January and is divided into four terms, with short breaks between them, and the final Matric examinations take place late in the year. Many learners use the preliminary examinations in the third term as a practice run for the finals.

Several habits help in the South African setting. First, read the subject guidelines that the Department publishes, because they show which topics carry most weight. Second, work through past papers, since the structure of state papers is stable from year to year. Third, practise mathematics under time limits.

Preparing with GetMyMockTest

GetMyMockTest offers free practice in English for the exams below. Check the official format with each organiser.

• South Africa (SA) Matric: practice for the National Senior Certificate, with questions that follow school subjects.
• Cambridge IGCSE: practice across common IGCSE subjects.
• Cambridge A-Level: practice for sixth-form subjects.
• SAT: reading, writing and mathematics practice.
• IELTS: practice for the English language test used for study abroad.