IEB students jump for joy, NSC results still incoming

While the majority of South Africa’s matric pupils are counting down the hours to the release of their results tomorrow, those who wrote the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) spent the weekend celebrating their results released on Friday.

Gia Hasson, a learner at Herzlia High School in Cape Town was left jumping for joy. “I’m very happy with my result,” she said. “It feels amazing to be finished with exams and it is a huge relief before the next chapter in my life begins”

Hasson is one of several pupils at Herzlia who wrote the IEB exam for Advanced Programme (AP) Mathematics as part of the school’s additional subject offering. She achieved 96%.

Another Herzlia matric, Sarah Katz, was relieved exams were over and she looked forward to a gap year, before attending university to study genetics and biotechnology. “I would also like to explore the liberal arts in my time at university,” she said. “I’d like to balance both the sciences and the humanities as both speak to my interests.”

But it’s still a waiting game for Hasson and Katz as their outstanding NSC results are scheduled to be released on Monday. “While I am admittedly nervous about receiving my results next week, I know that it is now out of my control,” Katz said. “Despite the anxiety, I am excited to be able to move forward and explore future academic options.”

Provincial MEC for Education Debbie Schäfer welcomed the release of the results in the face of a long wait and difficult year.

“Although we gave our matrics every assistance we could last year, I would be surprised if we did not see some effect on the results this year,” she said. “I nevertheless believe that our province will acquit itself well and am proud of the work that our matrics and their teachers did, and how they kept working despite what was happening around them. "

In 2020, the IEB achieved a NSC pass rate of 98.07%, slightly lower than 2019’s rate of 98.82%.

"It is interesting to note that the hard lockdown had differing impacts across schools within the IEB,” said Chief executive officer, Anne Oberholzer.

“Some schools were able to make a smooth transition to online teaching and learning as they had the resources available, and in fact, had already been using them in the normal course of events. Their teachers were experienced in this mode of delivery, as were their learners who had access to devices and stable internet connectivity."

The IEB had 13 163 full-time and part-time candidates studying at 233 schools across South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and eSwatini. In the Western Cape, there were 1 358 candidates studying at 22 schools.

Following the release, multiple school groups celebrated the passing of their learners and congratulated their high achievers.

Reddam House, which operates four campuses across the Western Cape, reported that a 100% pass rate was achieved with its 198 matriculants, who accumulated 535 distinctions.

Elkanah House High School in Sunningdale, also achieved a 100% pass rate with two students, Aliya Swart and Claudia Oschman, leading the pack with eight distinctions each and an average pass rate of above 88%.

Swart had a message for the incoming Class of 2021: “Set your goals and just work hard to achieve them. If you work consistently and believe in yourself you can achieve anything. Don’t let a hiccup discourage you! Carpe diem and seize the day!”

Somerset College’s Class of 2020 also achieved a 100% pass rate.