This year, 77 442 candidates will write the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams in the Western Cape.
Of these, 67 606 are full-time matric candidates, while 9 836 are part-time or repeat candidates. We have 3 231 more full-time candidates writing than in 2024.
The exams begin on Tuesday, 21 October 2025, with 12 736 candidates writing the Computer Applications Technology (CAT) Practical exam in the morning. In total, 112 exam papers will be written by the time the exams end on 26 November 2025.
As in previous years, the subject with the largest number of candidates is Mathematical Literacy, with 53 206 candidates writing Paper 1 on Friday, 31 October 2025, and Paper 2 on Monday 3 November 2025.
On the other end of the scale, two subjects have just 1 candidate writing in the Western Cape: Sesotho First Additional Language, and Setswana Home Language.
The implementation of the exams is a mammoth administrative exercise: candidates will write at 473 exam centres, with 2 046 trained invigilators appointed to keep a close eye on proceedings. Marking will take place at the beginning of December, with 954 000 examination scripts being marked by 4 190 markers.
The national minister will announce the national and provincial pass rates on Monday, 12 January 2026, and candidates will receive their individual results the following day.
We appreciate the incredible work that our examination officials do each year to ensure that the exams run smoothly. Our matrics and their teachers have also put in a tremendous amount of work to prepare for these exams, so we appeal to everyone in our province to put the best interests of our candidates first during the exam period.
We wish our candidates all the best for the final days of revision, and look forward to celebrating with them when the results are released!
Media enquiries:
Kerry Mauchline – Spokesperson to Minister David Maynier
E-mail: Kerry.Mauchline@westerncape.gov.za
