Thabo Seota, a top matric achiever from Sekeleka Senior Secondary School in Limpopo, has credited resilience, discipline and teacher support for his success after overcoming financial hardship at home to place among the country’s best performers.
Limpopo’s department of education has told parents, teachers and schools in the flood-hit Vhembe and Mopani districts not to reopen schools on Wednesday, warning that heavy rains have created dangerous conditions and disrupted key services, including school meals and scholar transport.
Maria Freercks, 18, a pupil at Collegiate Girls’ High School in Gqeberha, has been named among South Africa’s top 40 achievers in the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, and is now setting her sights on a future in medicine.
KwaZulu-Natal overcame years of financial pressure, damaging floods and persistent staffing shortages to finish as South Africa’s top-performing province in the 2025 National Senior Certificate results with a 90.6% pass rate – up from 89.52% in 2024.
The Department of Basic Education has assured parents and the nation that all unplaced learners will be allocated schools when learning begins on Wednesday.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has lambasted the province’s 2025 matric performance, describing its drop from second to third place nationally as unacceptable and calling for urgent intervention.
Over the past three academic years and into the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, South Africa’s schooling system has continued to display a troubling contradiction: steadily improving matric pass rates alongside persistently high learner dropout across earlier grades.
The North West Province has continued its upward trajectory in National Senior Certificate (NSC) performance, achieving an overall pass rate of 88.49% for the Class of 2025, marking a 0.9 percentage point improvement from the previous year.
One of Gauteng’s top matric achievers, Kamogelo Tshabalala from Acudeo College Kirkney, described the matriculation journey as “easy” thanks to good preparation and a well-coordinated support structure, including peer groups and assistance from teachers.
Tania Motimele is a Diepkloof Secondary School learner in Gauteng and an NSC 2025 top achiever, whose academic success is rooted in discipline, perseverance, and a strong support system.
