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GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Plettenberg Bay and Knysna 2018 matriculants flew the area’s flag high following the release of the public school matric results last week.
The area managed an 81% pass rate, not only exceeding the national pass rate of 78.2% but just about matching the Western Cape pass rate of 81.5% and the Eden and Central Karoo District pass rate of R81.1%.
The district was one of eight in the Western Cape to obtain a pass rate above 80%. Only one district, Metro East with a pass rate of 76.4%, dropped below the 80% mark.
The province secured a place in the top three provinces in the country behind Gauteng and the Free State which respectively managed an 87.9% and 87.5% pass rate.
The area also managed to improve on its own results. Last year Plett and Knysna’s pass rate was 78%.
Four with 100% pass rate
The two towns are also home to one of only four out of the 48 public schools in the district that received a 100% pass rate.
This school is Wittedrift High School in Plettenberg Bay. Great elation could be heard throughout the Wittedrift area when learners heard that all their peers made the grade. The school was back to a 100% pass rate, which it had maintained for many years, after a brief dip last year when it obtained 94.2%.
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Principal Jeremy Marallich said he is very proud of his school’s achievement and attributes the success to dedicated teachers and learners, and support from the Western Cape education department.
“It is about putting in the effort every single day,” Marallich said.
Wittedrift matrics celebrated the school's 100% pass rate on Friday 4 January. Photo: Yolandé Stander
The school obtained 48 distinctions among its 60 matriculants. “You have created an opportunity for yourself, I urge you to make the most of it,” Marallich told the learners when they collected their results at school.
Significant improvement
The area has another aspect to be proud of as four out of the seven local schools managed to improve their pass rate, with the biggest coming from Knysna Secondary School, which obtained 74.2% compared to last year’s 62%.
Percy Mdala High School improved its results from 66.3% to 70.9%, Plettenberg Bay Secondary School from 66.1% to 74.5% and Wittedrift from 94.2% to 100%.
Western Cape MEC for education Debbie Schäfer said matric results were the province’s second key measure of the state of education.
“The Western Cape government has always maintained that indicators of quality go well beyond the overall pass rate. We focus on the quality of the passes and the retention of as many learners as possible in the school system so that we can ensure the best possible opportunities for our young people in the Western Cape. I am therefore pleased that yet again, our indicators of quality show a sustained improvement in the Western Cape,” Schäfer said.
Wittedrift High School matrics (from left) Geoff Jansen, Aviwe Bam, Siyambuka Ngcibi, Lukhanyo Webile and Tyrone Bowie were very excited when they found out they had all made the grade. Photo: Ewald Stander
Results over 5 years
Results over the last five years, she added, indicate that the total percentage of candidates who passed matric has increased from 75.7% in 2009 to 81.5% in 2018 – an increase of 5.8%.
She further said that in 2009, the matric pass rate in quintile 1 schools was 57.5%. In 2018 it is 70.5%. There have also been pass rate increases of 10.6% in quintile 2 and 15.6% in quintile 3 schools during the same period.
Schäfer said it is important to note that unlike the overall pass rate, the “real matric pass rate” factors in the retention rate.
“Our retention rate from Grades 10 to 12 is the highest in the country, at around 63%. Not a single other province managed to achieve over a 50% retention rate.”
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