Today is D-day for thousands of the matrics who write exams set by the Independent Examinations Board.

Nearly 9000 pupils from 176 schools are sitting for the board's exams. They include 8305 full-time and 523 part-time candidates.

The exams started on October 10 and pupils have already written several subjects, including German, Portuguese, consumer studies and tourism.

Most pupils, however, are writing their first paper today - 7911 pupils write the English home language paper and 453 the English first additional language paper .

The pass rate for the board's exam last year was 98.4%. The state schools' rate was 67.8%.

Education expert Graeme Bloch said the standards of the board's exams and those of the Department of Basic Education were similar.

"The exams are all checked by Umalusi and I have a lot of faith in them," he said.

Umalusi, which is responsible for quality assurance for all matric exams, said last month that it had moderated and approved 76 Independent Examinations Board question papers.

Fiona Rogers, deputy principal of Roedean School, in Parktown, Johannesburg, said yesterday that her pupils had been happy with the standard of the papers.

"They appear to have found the papers reasonably fair" and were "quietly confident".

Roedean pupil Megan Lang said she was relaxed ahead of the English exam because she had had a long break since her first paper, about two weeks ago.

"But exam time is always stressful," she said.

Nicholas Lorimer, of St Stithian's Boys' College, Randburg, Johannesburg, said he was "not too worried" about today's paper.

"My friends are also fairly relaxed," he said.