Understanding Matric Results | Career Help (2024)

Matric results are one of the most important milestones in your child’s education or career life, meaning your better understanding of the results will enable you to give the necessary career support to your child.

Parents should bear in mind that when their children make career decisions, theirs is just to support and guide them and that can only be done if they (parents) thoroughly understand the meaning of their children’s matric results.

National Senior Certificate (NSC) levels and the APS comparison

NSC Levels	NSC%	APS Levels	APS%
		8	90 – 100 %
7	80 – 100 %	7	80 – 89 %
6	70 – 79 %	6	70 – 79 %
5	60 – 69 %	5	60 – 69 %
4	50 – 59 %	4	50 – 59 %
3	40 – 49 %	3	40 – 49 %
2	30 – 39 %	2	30 – 39 %
1	0 – 29 %		0 – 29 %

What a learner needs for different pass levels?

The total points on table 2 below are also calculated according to the APS system above.

Pass Level	Points
Bachelor Pass	- 4 in four high credit subjects - 3 in home language - 2 in other two subject Total points: 23
Diploma Pass	- 3 home language - 3 in other four high credit subjects - 2 in other two subject Total points: 19
HC Pass	3 in home language 3 in other two subjects 2 in three other subjects Total points: 15
NSC	3 in home language 3 in other two subjects 2 in 4 other subjects Total points: 14

Levels of achievement explained

There are different levels of achievement shown on National Senior Certificate and as such have different implications on the next step that a learners should take.

It is always compulsory to pass your home language with at least 40% – anything less than 40% for a home language means the learner has failed.

Bachelors– Will gain youprovisional entranceinto any University or degree course.
Diploma– Will gain youprovisional entranceinto any University of Technology or diploma course.
Certificate– Will gain youprovisional entranceinto any College or certificate course.

Theprovisional entranceindicated above means even though the learner achieved a bachelors degree pass which allows him or her entrance at the university, however it does not guarantee him/her a space in all the courses because for programmes like Engineering you might find that the university wants 80% pass in Mathematics and if the learner had achieved symbols below that she/he will not be accepted in the programme.

B	Bachelors Pass	Must obtain at least 40% for your Home Language. Must obtain at least 50% for four other High Credit subjects. Must obtain at least 30% for two other subjects.
D	Diploma	Must obtain at least 40% for your Home Language. Must obtain at least 40% for four other High Credit subjects. Must obtain at least 30% for two other subjects.
HC	Higher Certificate	Must obtain 40% in your Home Language. Must obtain at least 40% in two other subjects. Must obtain at least 30% for three other subjects. It is important to note that one of your languages must either be English or Afrikaans to qualify for a Higher Certificate.
NSC	NSC Pass	NSC (National Senior Certificate) Pass To get an NSC pass you need your 40% minimum for your home language and 40% for another 2 subjects – you can fail a subject – even your first additional language – but you must then get 30% or more for the other 6 making a total of 6 passes. If you have an average of 33⅓% you will be awarded with your NSC but will not enable you to study at any university. You need to aim higher!
F	Fail	Further study may not be possible unless subjects are rewritten

Encourage your child to check the entrance requirements of the course she/he wishes to study, it will be more helpful for your child if you also familiarise yourself with the admission requirements.

Try to provide guidance for them or even contact the Career Development Services for a Career Adviser and talk about options available, contact details: 086999 0123 OR send an SMS: or “please call me” to 072 204 5056.