All across South Africa, matrics have started writing the 2015 National Senior Certificate examinations.
More than 10,000 fulltime matrics and over 636 private candidates are writing exam papers in 66 subjects, including 14 non-official languages.
Gauteng has the most learners writing NSC exams, with 93 registered high schools and 6,033 learners, whereas the Northern Cape has the least amount with only 2 schools and 17 learners.
Altogether 15 schools from Mozambique, Namibia and Swaziland are also registered this year.
Advanced Programme
Learners in both state and private schools can this year also write Advanced Programme examinations in Mathematics, English Home Language and Afrikaans Home Language. These are rated by the UK National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) as equal to A-levels.
"Because of the diverse abilities of learners in any education system, there is a need to provide an opportunity for talented learners to be challenged at the highest level," says Anne Oberholzer, CEO of the Independent Examinations Board (IEB).
"This is the reason for the IEB’s introduction of the Advanced Programme. To ensure all South African learners can participate, examinations in these stand-alone courses are available to learners in public as well as independent institutions of learning."
Matric results
The NSC exams will conclude on Friday 28 November, and centralised marking will begin on 6 December in Johannesburg. Anne says the IEB anticipates that the matric results will be released on 31 December.
Past exam papers can be downloaded from the Department of Education's website to help prepare learners for the finals.