2018 matric results in numbers - looking at distinctions

South Africa’s matric class of 2018 achieved a total of 156,885 distinctions – a slight decline compared to the 161,081 distinctions obtained in 2017.

The main contributors towards the distinctions obtained were KwaZulu-Natal with 41,734, Gauteng with 36,113, Western Cape with 24,822, Eastern Cape with 16,109 and Limpopo with 15,748.

The three “rural” provinces - the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo – produced a combined total of 75,591 distinctions, equivalent to 46.9% of the total distinctions for the country.

In the 12 key subjects, the total number of distinctions stood at 58,806 - a decline of 4.3% from 2017.

The number of distinctions attained specifically in the gateway subjects were:

• 5,169 distinctions in Accounting, compared to 5,040 in 2017
• 5,828 distinctions in Mathematics, compared to 6 726 in 2017; and
• 8,135 distinctions in Physical Science, compared to 7,861 in 2017.

In the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, “no fee” schools produced more distinctions than their fee-paying counterparts.  The proportions were:  

• In the Eastern Cape, for every distinction produced in a fee-paying school, a “no fee” school produced almost two distinctions
• In Limpopo, for every distinction produced in a fee-paying school, a “no fee” school produced three distinctions; and
• In Mpumalanga, for every distinction produced in a fee-paying school, a “no fee” school produced approximately two distinctions.

But the picture changed in the rest of the provinces, as fee-paying schools dominated the production of passes with distinctions:

• For every six distinctions produced in a “no fee” school in the Free State, a fee-paying school produced 10 distinctions
• In Gauteng, for every three distinctions produced by a “no fee” school, a fee-paying school produced 10 distinctions
• In KwaZulu-Natal, for every seven distinctions produced by a “no fee” school, a fee-paying school produced 10 distinctions
• Every six distinctions produced by a “no fee” school in the North West saw a fee-paying school produce 10 distinctions; and
• In the Western Cape, for every distinction produced by a “no fee” school, a fee-paying school produced 10 distinctions.

Further analysis of the 2018 NSC examination results, with progressed learners included, showed that the number of candidates qualifying for admission to Bachelor studies was  172,043 (compared to 153,610 in 2017), which represented 33.6% of the total number of candidates.