Gauteng Matric Results 2025: Province Achieves Record 89.06% Pass Rate
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has officially released the National Senior Certificate (NSC) results for the Class of 2025. With a historic 89.06% overall pass rate, Gauteng has solidified its position as one of South Africa’s top three academic provinces, trailing only KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.
This performance marks a significant improvement from the 88.4% recorded in 2024, demonstrating a resilient upward trend despite the cohort’s foundational challenges during the pandemic.
1. Quality of Results: Higher University Eligibility
Gauteng continues to lead the way in producing quality passes that open doors to tertiary education. In 2025, nearly half of the province’s matriculants qualified for university entrance.
Breakdown of Pass Types
- Bachelor Admissions: 67,861 candidates (48.2%) qualified for degree studies.
- Diploma Passes: 39,055 candidates (27.7%) achieved entry into diploma programmes.
- Higher Certificates: 18,510 candidates (13.1%) qualified for certificate studies.
- Distinction Rate: The province achieved a 5.1% distinction rate, with top learners like Mahir Modi (Greenside High) leading the national charts.
2. Gateway Subject Performance: Excellence in STEM
The “Inclusive Basket of Criteria” shows that Gauteng learners remain competitive in critical STEM and business subjects, with Technical Mathematics emerging as a standout success.
| Subject | Pass Rate |
| Technical Mathematics | 97.4% |
| Accounting | 78.8% |
| Physical Sciences | 76.5% |
| Mathematics (Pure) | 67.0% |
Notably, Tshwane South and Johannesburg North were highlighted as top-performing districts nationally for “High-Level Mathematics” (learners scoring 60% and above).
3. Socio-economic Progress and Gender Trends
The 2025 results highlight a “silent revolution” in Gauteng’s township schools, where the gap between affluent and disadvantaged areas continues to close.
Township Schools Shatter Records
- No-Fee Schools (Quintiles 1–3): Achieved a record 87.3% pass rate, up from 86.4% in 2024.
- Lufhereng Secondary: This no-fee township school achieved a 100% pass rate with 98.4% Bachelor passes, proving that excellence is no longer confined to former Model-C schools.
Gender Achievement Gap
While male candidates had a slightly higher overall pass rate (89.3% vs 88.9%), female learners achieved a significantly higher volume of university entrances, with 39,707 Bachelor passes compared to 28,154 for males.
4. 2025 Gauteng District Rankings
For the first time in history, all 15 districts in Gauteng achieved a pass rate above 83%. Johannesburg West took the top spot both provincially and nationally.
| Rank | District | Pass Rate |
| 1 | Johannesburg West | 96.20% |
| 2 | Tshwane North | 92.03% |
| 3 | Johannesburg North | 90.86% |
| 4 | Tshwane South | 90.29% |
| 5 | Johannesburg East | 89.73% |
| 6 | Tshwane West | 89.61% |
| 7 | Johannesburg South | 89.57% |
| 8 | Sedibeng East | 89.35% |
| 9 | Gauteng West | 89.27% |
| 10 | Johannesburg Central | 88.51% |
5. Top Performing Schools in Gauteng
Out of 930 schools, 181 recorded a perfect 100% pass rate. The top three performing public schools in the province were:
- Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria
- Die Hoërskool Menlo Park
- Hoërskool Waterkloof
In the independent sector, Acudeo College Kirkney produced one of the province’s top learners, Kamogelo Tshabalala, who placed third overall in Gauteng.