Catholic Schools Beat National Average Again

by Erin Carelse · January 22, 2018

Learners from Immaculata High School in Soweto wait to receive their results. (From left) Vuyelwa Baloyi, Banele Motshoeneng, Khumi Phoko, Vuya Ntloko, and Sicelo Nguyuza. The school had a 99% pass rate and achieved more than 50 distinctions.

It was another year in which Catholic schools outperformed the national average. In the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, written by public state schools, Catholic schools recorded an 84,1% pass rate — an improvement over the past two years—against the national average of 74,6%.

Private Catholic schools, writing the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) papers, attained a 99% pass rate, 0,2% higher than the national average.

The combined pass rate for Catholic schools, most of which are public schools on private (Church-owned) property was 86,8%.

A combined total of 52,2% of Catholic school matric candidates achieved a university pass (or matric exemption). Here Catholic schools outperformed both state and private schools significantly.

In Catholic public schools, 43,1% attained university entrance, against the national average of 28%.

In Catholic private schools, the figure was 92,7% (up by 2,7%), against the national IEB exam average of 88,5%.

Catholic public schools recorded 2711 (6,8%) distinctions — marks above 80% — against the national figure of 145385 (3,7%).

In private schools, the average was slightly lower than the national average: 22,5% against 23,4%.

Catholic schools occupied two of the Top 3 places of best-performing schools nationally in a ranking published in the Johannesburg daily The Star: Inkamana Benedictine School in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal came second; Springfield Dominican Convent in Cape Town came third. Herschel Girls’ High in Cape Town topped the list.