Grade 12 Marks – What do they mean and what if I failed?
As a South African Grade 12 learner, you can attain your National Senior Certificate under 3 different passes. Ultimately, the marks you get during the final exams determine your pass level and depending on the pass, different tertiary opportunities are available to you.
This article explains the marks you need to get in order to obtain different passes, and which opportunities are available for you based on those marks.
These are the different passes you can get for your NSC as a matric learner in South Africa
- Bachelor’s Pass (Highest pass)
- Diploma Pass (Second highest pass)
- Higher certificate Pass (Lowest pass)
The marks you need to get for each pass
Bachelor’s Pass:
- At least 40% in your Home Language
- At least 50% in 4 other recognised subjects including Life Orientation
- At least 30% in 2 other recognised subjects
- You can only fail one subject (Fail = 0-29%)
Learners who have attained a Bachelor’s Pass can apply to any institution provided that they meet the entry requirements.
Diploma Pass
- At least 40% in your Home Language
- At least 40% in 4 other recognised subjects including Life Orientation
- At least 30% in 2 other recognised subjects
- You can only fail one subject (Fail = 0-29%)
If you obtain a Diploma Pass can apply to SOME universities that offer diploma qualifications, you can also get into a university of technology and an FET college.
Higher Certificate Pass
- At least 40% in a Home Language subject
- At least 30% in 2 other recognised subjects
- You can only fail one subject (Fail = 0-29%)
If you obtained this pass you can study at a college.
What if I failed grade 12?
It’s not the end of the world, there are other opportunities for you such as a repeat programme offered by local schools, you can even check if your school offers this programme and repeat your matric there.
Secondly, you can go to an FET college whereby they accept learners from grade 9.
Your marks as a grade 12 learner are very important as they determine which opportunities are available to you after high-school. Remember that you can always improve your marks if you want more opportunities and that there is more than one path to getting into tertiary.
Even if you don’t want to study further, a lot of jobs in South Africa require you to have a National Senior Certificate. This is why it’s important to know which opportunities are available to you.
We hope that this article was helpful!
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